CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor : Final Report

Final Report
CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor
Prepared by
Steve Albert, Director
Patrick M. Wright, T.E, Senior Research Associate
John E. Taylor, P.E., Deputy Director
Xianming Shi, Ph.D., Research Associate
Scott Lee, Research Assistant
of
Western Transportation Institute
College of Engineering
Montana State University – Bozeman
Prepared for the
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition:
Montana Department of Transportation
Idaho Transportation Department
Utah Department of Transportation
Nevada Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
in cooperation with the
U.S. Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Administration
March 24, 2004 CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The CANAMEX Corridor is an important trade, tourism and travel way for the United States, Mexico and Canada. In terms of population, it is the fastest growing region in the country, and includes four of the five fastest growing states. More than 65 percent of the freight moving in the Corridor originated outside of the region. Travel in the Corridor has increased 130 percent since 1970. The Corridor includes some of the most visited sites in America, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, and Hoover Dam. While large portions of the Corridor are in rural areas, it also passes directly through the urban areas of Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
In 1999, the Governors of Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona created the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition (CCC) to spur economic development along the corridor. Following the development of a corridor plan in 2001, the CCC retained the Western Transportation Institute of Montana State University – Bozeman in 2002 to develop the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative. WTI surveyed the needs of the CANAMEX states’ tourism industry, analyzed each state’s Intelligent Transportation System assets and plans, and researched communications technologies and information collection and dissemination systems. This Final Report is the action plan for development of the Smart Tourist Corridor.
Goals
The two primary goals of the Smart Tourist Corridor are:
• Increase tourism spending and length of stays by enhancing the tourist experience Rural economic development is a shared challenge among the CANAMEX states. For most rural areas, tourism supports local businesses, generates revenues and provides local employment. The Corridor has great potential for promoting tourism development through public/private partnerships; by extending visits “one more day”, the Smart Tourist Corridor can significantly enhance rural economies.
• Establish CANAMEX as the safest, most secure and most efficient corridor for travelers within and through the region. The personal safety of travelers is the highest priority of the CANAMEX states, and is supported by the Federal Highway Administration, as evidenced in SAFETEA and other legislation. Security has increased in importance for all stakeholders in the post-9/11 environment. Efficiency of the transportation system is also essential for the region’s continued economic competitiveness.
Smart Tourist Corridor Elements
Survey data collected through this project show that the number one need of travelers is information: what are the traffic and weather conditions on the road, and what can we do and where can we stay along the way? The Smart Tourist Corridor proposes to use a combination of emerging technologies and interstate/interagency coordination to provide seamless safety and tourism information to corridor travelers.
The plan for the Smart Tourist Corridor includes four integrated elements:
• The CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal website element will create a safety and tourism data gathering/sharing system that will form the heart of the Smart Tourist Corridor
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CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
concept. This element will make it possible for all participating agencies to receive relevant, real-time information and alerts, and will allow for the creation of the CANAMEX Gateway website, which will provide Corridor-wide information to travelers.
• The CANAMEX Communications element will consist of technological improvements that facilitate the dissemination of tourism and safety information to travelers, such as completing cellular coverage in the Corridor.
• Smart Devices Development consists of public-private partnerships that expand the ability of tourists and other travelers to use smart devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and in-vehicle navigation units throughout the Corridor.
• Safety, Security and Operations Improvements are a broad range of activities that will foster better coordination and cooperation among emergency response agencies throughout the corridor, as well as increased safety and improved emergency response.
These initiatives provide a powerful opportunity to integrate the informational databases of tourism and transportation agencies; in other words, combine the tourism inventory of venues and attractions with transportation’s real-time travel advisories to improve the visitor experience and thereby increase tourist activity. In addition, these initiatives will promote and facilitate safe travel along the entire Corridor.
Costs & Funding
Full implementation of the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor requires an estimated $70 million over 10 years for equipment, systems development, and operations and maintenance. Of this amount, approximately $27 million is necessary to develop the data sharing system and establish a multi-portal website to service the enhanced information services (“CANAMEX Gateway”), and approximately $36 million is necessary for development of the technological infrastructure (“CANAMEX Communications”). Most of the costs (an estimated $68 of the $70 million total) will be the responsibility of state departments of transportation; a variety of federal funding opportunities exist to provide potential resources to the states.
The Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative will also yield significant benefits to all of the CANAMEX states, including increased tourism activity, improved visitor experience, increased safety and improved mobility for travelers, and ultimately job development for residents and their communities. Estimates indicate cost reductions of almost $66 million from reduced accident and weather delays and increased tourism revenues of more than 400 million dollars for the CANAMEX states over the next ten years, yielding an overall benefit-to-cost ratio of 7.1. As shown in Table 1, the benefit-to-cost ratio for public and private tourist entities is substantially larger at 167, reflecting their relatively smaller cost responsibility of only $2.6 million for the five states over 10 years. The estimated benefit to the tourism industry is based on a conservative formula that assumes that 1% of tourists will spend “one more day” in the region as a result of the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives.
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CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
Table 1: Summary of CANAMEX Benefits by Stakeholder Group
STAKEHOLDER GROUP
ESTIMATED BENEFITS ($)
ESTIMATED COST ($)
OVERALL BENEFIT-TO-COST RATIO
State DOTs
$65,700,000 *
$68,329,500
1.0
Tourism Industry
$440,424,214
$2,632,500
167.3
Traveling Public
$65,700,000
$0
n/a
TOTAL
$506,124,214
$70, 962,000
7.1
* The cost savings due to reduction in accident and weather delays directly benefit the traveling public and are also counted as benefits to the State DOTs as it is in the DOTs’ strategic interest to move people quickly and safely through the transportation systems.
Next Steps
Section 8 of this report contains a full discussion of project next steps for each initiative, many of which are dependent on the receipt of federal funds. There are many things the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition and its partner agencies, Transportation and Tourism, can do now to advance development of the Smart Tourist Corridor. The major opportunities are listed here (Table 2). Once funding has been secured, qualified contractors should be engaged to design the specific system linkages and protocols, and undertake operation of the Smart Tourist Corridor.
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CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
Table 2: Smart Tourist Corridor -- Recommended Next Steps
Action Item
Responsibility
Support
Approval
Timeline (Initiation Date)
Earmark:
Advocate and obtain federal multi-year earmark for ITS implementation of Smart Corridor Operations
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
CANAMEX Project Office, DOTs, Congressional Delegations
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Spring 2004. Dependent upon congressional action.
Framework:
Establish organizational framework for managing project implementation and business plan
CANAMEX Project Office
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Spring 2004
Standards/Architecture:
Identify ITS standards & architecture for deployment of data gathering and information sharing networks. Conduct gap analysis of existing standards and systems. Secure special project funding from FHWA.
ITS Coordinators
CANAMEX Project Office
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Summer 2004
CANAMEX Gateway Website:
Create plan/prototype for website. Determine method for website implementation.
CANAMEX Project Office
ITS Coordinators; State Tourism Agencies
Spring 2004
Tourism Brand:
Define Tourism brand for the Corridor
State Tourism Agencies
CANAMEX Project Office
State Tourism Agencies
Summer 2004
Tourism Partnerships:
Develop data sharing partnership agreements and identify joint tourism promotional opportunities. Develop means for collecting data.
State Tourism Agencies
CANAMEX Project Office
Spring 2004
International Outreach:
Engage Alberta, Sonora, federal land management agencies and the Department of Customs & Border Protection and define roles
CANAMEX Project Office; states of Montana and Arizona
State Tourism Agencies
Summer 2004
Funding Opportunities:
Explore alternative federal funding opportunities to define tourism and traveler data sets that should be incorporated in the traveler information system (EDA, state and private resources etc.)
CANAMEX Project Office
State Tourism Agencies, CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Summer 2004
Communications Plan:
Develop an integrated corridor deployment plan to map wireless coverage of the various communications systems deployed throughout the corridor.
CANAMEX Project Office
State CIOs and technology agencies; ITS Coordinators
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Fall 2004
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CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
Action Item
Responsibility
Support
Approval
Timeline (Initiation Date)
ITS Device Deployment and Tactical Plan
Develop a coordinated plan to continue deployment of ITS devices in the corridor.
ITS Coordinators
CANAMEX Project Office
Fall 2004
511 Linkage and Enhancement:
Each of the CANAMEX states should adopt protocols to link their 511 systems and establish a project timeline for deployment. Also develop standards for adding tourism information, concierge services, and public lands information to 511.
ITS Coordinators
CANAMEX Project Office;
State Tourism Agencies
Summer 2004
Private Sector / Telematics New Technology Testing:
Promote the five-state, 1500 mile CANAMEX Corridor as an attractive platform for the private sector to test & pilot projects and as an opportunity to develop innovative risk and revenue sharing partnerships.
CANAMEX Project Office
ITS Coordinators; State Tourism Agencies
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Fall 2004
State Border Operations:
Formalize multi-state agreements for DOTs and law enforcement agencies to coordinate operations at state borders (already noted in standards)
ITS Coordinators
DOT Directors
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Fall 2004
Incident Management Plans:
Develop incident management plans within each state, and share with other states.
ITS Coordinators
DOT Directors
Fall 2004
Cost-Benefit Analysis:
Collect additional data to refine estimates of increased tourism revenue potential for each state.
CANAMEX Project Office
State Tourism Agencies
To be determined based on need for the data.
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CANAMEX Final Report Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER
This document has been prepared and disseminated under the sponsorship of the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition, which includes the Departments of Transportation from Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation, Canada and Mexico. The lead state and contractual authority is the Montana Department of Transportation, which has accepted this document as the final report of the project. These state departments of transportation and the Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University – Bozeman provide this document in the interest of information exchange. The Montana Department of Transportation and the Western Transportation Institute, MSU – Bozeman assume no liability for its contents or use thereof. The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the opinions, findings and conclusions presented herein. The authors are not responsible for any misrepresentation of data from the referenced vendors, manufacturers, or representatives. The Montana Department of Transportation and the Western Transportation Institute, MSU – Bozeman do not endorse products or manufacturers of the systems reported herein.
ALTERNATIVE FORMAT STATEMENT
The Montana Department of Transportation attempts to provide reasonable accommodations for any known disability that may interfere with a person participating in any service, program, or activity for the department. Alternative accessible formats of this document will be provided upon request. For further information, call (406) 444-6331 (V) or 1-800-335-7592 (T).
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CANAMEX Final Report Acknowledgements
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Western Transportation Institute would like to extend its sincere appreciation to Carol Sanger, Executive Director of the CANAMEX Corridor Project, for her guidance and assistance throughout the project. WTI would not have been able to develop this report without the participation of the organizations listed below.
Montana
Montana Department of Commerce
Montana Department of Transportation Blackfoot Nation
Montana Historical Society
MT - Lewis & Clarke Bicentennial
MT - National Park Service
Gold West Country
Great Falls Chamber of Commerce
Helena Convention and Visitors Bureau
Russell Country
Butte Chamber of Commerce
Idaho
Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation
Idaho Department of Commerce
Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation
Idaho Transportation Department
Shoshone - Bannock Tribe
ID - Bureau of Land Management
ID - National Park Service
ID - U.S. Forest Service
Lava Hot Springs Foundation
Pocatello Chamber of Commerce
Rexburg Chamber of Commerce
Sun Valley Company
Yellowstone Bear World
Nevada
Nevada Commission on Tourism
Nevada Department of Transportation
Nevada Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority
Las Vegas Paiute Tribe
NV - Bureau of Land Management
NV - Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
NV - Lake Mead National Recreation Area
NV - U.S. Forest Service
Utah
Utah Department of Transportation
Utah Department of Community & Economic Development
Utah Division of Parks and Recreation
Utah Division of Travel Development
Utah Travel Council
UT - National Park Service
UT - U.S. Forest Service
Arizona
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Game & Fish Department
Arizona Humanities Council
Arizona Office of Tourism
Arizona State Parks
Ak-Chin Indian Community
AZ - Bureau of Land Management
AZ - National Park Service
Northern Arizona University
Public Lands Information Center
Sharlot Hall Museum
Arizona Automobile Association
Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce
Madden Media
Metropolitan Tuscon Convention & Visitors Bureau
Sedona Chamber of Commerce
Sierra Vista Convention & Visitors Bureau
Canada
Province of Alberta
Mexico
State of Sonora
Telecommunications Companies
Telcordia
QUALCOM
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CANAMEX Final Report Acknowledgements
In addition, WTI would like to thank the following individuals who played a key role in the development and completion of the technical memos and this final report:
CANAMEX Coalition Members
State
Name
Organization
Arizona
Victor Mendez
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona
Peter Woog
Pivotal Group
Arizona
Tom Belshe
Arizona Department of Commerce
Nevada
Jeffrey Fontaine
Nevada Department of Transportation
Nevada
Tom Skancke
The Skancke Company
Utah
John Njord
Utah Department of Transportation
Utah
Stephen Goodrich
United Parcel Service
Idaho
Dave Ekern
Idaho Transportation Department
Idaho
Dr. Richard Bowen
Idaho State University
Montana
Jim Currie
Montana Department of Transportation
Montana
Jay Foley
Diversified Transfer and Storage
Montana
Betsy Baumgart
Montana Department of Commerce
ITS Coordinators
Mike Bousliman, Montana Department of Transportation
Bob Koeberlein, Idaho Transportation Department
Richard Manser, Utah Department of Transportation
Fred Droes, Nevada Department of Transportation
Tim Wolfe, Arizona Department of Transportation
Technical Advisory Committee
Dick Turner, Montana Department of Transportation
Charles Rountree, Idaho Transportation Department
John Quick, Utah Department of Transportation
Joe Peltier, Nevada Department of Transportation
Dale Buskirk, Arizona Department of Transportation
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CANAMEX Final Report Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables................................................................................................................................xi
List of Figures..............................................................................................................................xii
1. Introduction.................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background.....................................................................................................................1
1.2 Smart Tourist Corridor Objectives..................................................................................2
1.3 Uniqueness of Corridor...................................................................................................3
1.4 Purpose...........................................................................................................................4
1.5 Relationship to other CANAMEX Documents...............................................................5
2. Methodology...............................................................................................................................6
2.1 Overall............................................................................................................................6
2.2 Outreach Findings and Vision........................................................................................6
2.3 Corridor Operations........................................................................................................6
2.4 ITS Infrastructure and Benefits.......................................................................................6
3. Travel and Tourism Outreach findings........................................................................................7
3.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................7
3.2 Summary of Outreach Findings....................................................................................10
4. Corridor Operations...................................................................................................................13
4.1 Purpose.........................................................................................................................13
4.2 Traveler Information Needs..........................................................................................13
4.3 Information Exchange...................................................................................................15
4.4 Incident Management....................................................................................................18
4.5 Telematics.....................................................................................................................20
4.6 Institutional Coordination.............................................................................................21
4.7 Recommended Actions.................................................................................................21
5. Smart Tourist Vision and Strategic Initiatives...........................................................................23
5.1 Smart Tourist Vision.....................................................................................................23
5.2 Summary of Strategic Initiatives for the Smart Tourist Corridor.................................27
5.3 Assessment of CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Recommendations.....................42
6. Benefits of the Smart Tourist Corridor......................................................................................44
6.1 Smart Tourist Corridor Costs........................................................................................44
6.2 Corridor Benefits..........................................................................................................46
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CANAMEX Final Report Table of Contents
7. Descriptive Scenarios of the Smart Tourist Corridor in Action................................................53
7.1 Visitor/Tourist...............................................................................................................53
7.2 Tourism Organization...................................................................................................53
7.3 Transportation Manager................................................................................................54
7.4 Transit/ Rail/ Airport Operator.....................................................................................54
7.5 Federal Land Steward...................................................................................................55
7.6 Operations.....................................................................................................................56
7.7 Safety...........................................................................................................................57
8. Summary and Next Steps...........................................................................................................58
8.1 Moving Forward from the CANAMEX Corridor Final Plan.......................................58
8.2 Next Steps/Issues for Consideration.............................................................................60
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CANAMEX Final Report List of Tables
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Summary of CANAMEX Benefits by Stakeholder Group..............................................iii
Table 2: Smart Tourist Corridor -- Recommended Next Steps.....................................................iv
Table 3: Private Sector Outreach....................................................................................................9
Table 4: Prioritization of Public and Private Sector Needs..........................................................11
Table 5: Travel and Tourism Information Needs........................................................................14
Table 6: Implementation Prioritization.........................................................................................27
Table 7: Comparison of Preliminary Concept Modules to Strategic Initiatives...........................27
Table 8: Relationship of Tourism Outreach Findings to Recommended Smart Tourism Corridor Program................................................................................................................................29
Table 9: Description of CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System Initiative Elements.....................................................................32
Table 10: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for the CANAMEX Gateway Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System Elements.........................................................34
Table 11: Description of CANAMEX Communications Initiative Elements..............................37
Table 12: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for the CANAMEX Communications Initiative...............................................................................................................................38
Table 13: Description of Private Sector Smart Devices Initiative................................................39
Table 14: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for Private Sector Smart Devices................39
Table 15: Description of Safety/Security and Operations Elements............................................41
Table 16: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for Safety/Security and Operations.............42
Table 17: Assessment of CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Recommendations....................43
Table 18. Summary of Costs by Strategic Initiative.....................................................................44
Table 19. Usage of the CANAMEX Corridor by State................................................................45
Table 20. Cost of CANAMEX Strategic Initiatives by State.......................................................45
Table 21. Summary of CANAMEX Costs by Stakeholder Group...............................................46
Table 22. Cost Savings as a Result of the Smart Tourist Initiatives.............................................47
Table 23: State Tourism Data Collected for Cost Benefit Analysis.............................................48
Table 24. Benefit of CANAMEX Strategic Initiatives by State...................................................50
Table 25. Summary of CANAMEX Benefits by Stakeholder Group...........................................51
Table 26: Assessment of CANAMEX Corridor Coalition Progress from the Corridor Final Plan to the Smart Tourist Corridor................................................................................................59
Table 27: Recommended Next Steps............................................................................................60
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CANAMEX Final Report List of Figures
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: CANAMEX Corridor......................................................................................................1
Figure 2: Montana Landscape.........................................................................................................3
Figure 3: Recreational Opportunities.............................................................................................3
Figure 4: Zion National Park.........................................................................................................4
Figure 5: Hoover Dam...................................................................................................................4
Figure 6: Distribution of Stakeholders............................................................................................7
Figure 7: Information Exchange Linkages..................................................................................15
Figure 8: Traffic Management Center..........................................................................................17
Figure 9: Existing and Planned ITS components in Idaho...........................................................18
Figure 10: Roadway Incident........................................................................................................19
Figure 11: Inter-relationship of Goals..........................................................................................23
Figure 12: Vision Outcome...........................................................................................................24
Figure 13: Institutional Foundation..............................................................................................25
Figure 14: Long-term Vision........................................................................................................26
Figure 15: CANAMEX Gateway Data Flows..............................................................................30
Figure 16: CANAMEX Communications Data Flows................................................................35
Figure 17: Example of Dynamic Message Sign..........................................................................36
Figure 18: Smart Devices Data Flows.........................................................................................38
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The CANAMEX Trade Corridor was established in 1995 as a High Priority Corridor in the National Highway Systems Designation Act passed by the U.S. Congress. In the United States, the Corridor follows Interstate 15 travels south through Montana, Idaho, Utah and Nevada. In Las Vegas, the Corridor follows U.S. 93 to Phoenix, Arizona and then Interstates 10 and 19 to Nogales (Figure 1). In 1999, the Governors of the five corridor states signed a Memorandum of Understanding creating the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition with public and private sector representation.
Based on the CANAMEX Corridor Plan, developed by Economics Research Associates in 2001, the Corridor is defined as a “unifying element.” The Plan was designed to meet the following objectives that are common to all five states:
• To stimulate economic development and enhance economic opportunity in the communities traversed by the CANAMEX Corridor. The communities are defined to include states, metropolitan areas, counties, cities, towns, and Native American reservations.
• To heighten awareness of the Corridor nationally and internationally and to incorporate the views, concerns and aspirations of key stakeholders from the Corridor communities into the development of the Plan.
• To identify the most critically needed transportation and telecommunications infrastructure (basic installations and facilities) projects within the Corridor, for the purposes of facilitating the safe and efficient movement of people, goods and services for the next 30 years, and to plan for their development.
Figure 1: CANAMEX Corridor
• To establish the Corridor as a leader in the innovative use of emerging technologies to accelerate economic development and sustain quality growth.
• To enhance the global competitiveness of the CANAMEX Corridor states.
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
• To prepare a Plan that represents the interest of each state and allows the five CANAMEX Corridor states to present a united front to the Federal Government for the funding of critically needed improvements and action on other initiatives.
The Coalition developed an action plan that identified five bold initiatives that, if undertaken, would drive the Plan’s ultimate success. The initiatives are listed below:
• Smart Freight Corridor
• Smart Tourist Corridor
• Telecommunications Access for Rural Areas
• Corridor Highway Improvements
• Smart Process Partnerships
In the fall of 2001, the Coalition decided to focus its initial implementation efforts on the Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative.
1.2 Smart Tourist Corridor Objectives
The overall goal of the Initiative is to develop a vision to enhance the Corridor's economic growth through tourism development based on advanced technology and communications applications. The CANAMEX Corridor Coalition established the following overall objectives for the Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative:
• Provide Corridor travelers with the safest and most convenient travel experience possible within the limits of available technology and resources.
• Identify a wide array of timely information desired by tourists and other Corridor travelers (including freight), based upon their perceptions of needs; advise Corridor travelers of user friendly outlets that can meet their information and other travel needs.
• Identify incident management and other operational practices within the Corridor and recommend alternative generic concepts for their improvement, including new and upgraded telecommunications, protocols and procedures.
• Identify new and upgraded infrastructure projects within the Corridor required to support implementation of the Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative and Corridor operations.
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
1.3 Uniqueness of Corridor
The CANAMEX Corridor is one of the most unique and diverse rural travel corridors that the United States has to offer. The spectacular landscapes include the beauty of the Rocky Mountains in the north, the breathtaking valleys surrounded by the Wasatch Mountains in the central region, and the red rocks and wide open plains in the south. The region retains its rural character in part due to the fact that 63% of the land in these states is Federal and Native American land (Final CANAMEX Corridor Plan, 2001). While large portions of the Corridor are in rural areas, it also passes directly through the urban areas of Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
Figure 2: Montana Landscape
Recreational Opportunities:
The CANAMEX Corridor offers a full range of year-round recreational opportunities including traditional favorites like fishing, skiing, white water rafting, hiking, and camping, as well as emerging activities such as extreme sports and off-road vehicles.
Visitor Experience:
Each year, more than 31 million travelers visit the national parks, monuments, historical sites, recreational areas and reserves in the CANAMEX Corridor region. The region contains some of the most famous landmarks and treasured natural sites in the United States, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Craters of The Moon National Monument Wilderness, Zion National Park and Hoover Dam.
Figure 3: Recreational Opportunities
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
Culture and History:
Tourists are also attracted to the rich culture and history of the region. The many Native American Reservations located throughout the Corridor are popular destinations, as well as other sites and events which showcase the heritage of the West: mining towns, the trails and discoveries of Lewis and Clark, rodeos, and cattle ranches.
Natural Resources:
The region is rich in natural resources that are critical to the economic vitality and environmental stability of our country. These resources range from agricultural lands and mineral deposits to animal and plant life that is unique to the region.
Transportation Facilities and Technology:
The CANAMEX Corridor must provide a safe and efficient means of traveling a long distance, through remote areas, under all weather and road conditions. Transportation agencies in the region have been on the cutting edge of providing technology solutions that manage facilities throughout the corridor. Recent innovations include: highway advisory radio, dynamic message signs, 511, Kiosks, advanced traveler management and information systems, road and weather information, and other management systems.
Figure 4: Zion National Park
International Travelers:
Many international travelers visit the region, attracted by the diverse landscapes and unique cultural experiences described previously. Since the Corridor connects the United States to both Canada and Mexico, the majority of international travelers are from these two countries. However, Interstate 15 provides all travelers with easy access to popular destinations.
Figure 5: Hoover Dam
1.4 Purpose
The purpose of this Final Report is to present a summary of the recommended program for the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor. The program is based upon the research, analyses and findings of three previous Technical Memoranda (TM) completed for the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition. Some findings and recommendations from the previous Technical Memoranda have been further refined for this Final Report.
The Final Report is organized as follows:
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
• Section 1 is Introduction, and contains relevant background information to the study genesis and purpose.
• Section 2 summarizes the Methodology followed throughout the entire project.
• Section 3 summarizes the Travel and Tourism Outreach Findings developed in TM 1.
• Section 4 summarizes the Corridor Operations needs and recommendations identified in TM 2.
• Section 5 describes the proposed Vision and Strategic Initiatives developed for the Smart Tourist Corridor (TM 3).
• Section 6 summarizes the potential Costs and Benefits of the Strategic Initiatives.
• Section 7 presents descriptive Scenarios of the Smart Tourist Corridor in action.
• Section 8 proposes Next Steps for further implementation of this project.
1.5 Relationship to other CANAMEX Documents
This report is the final product that summarizes the results of a series of three Technical Memoranda (TM) produced for the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition. TM 1 studied tourism issues and needs in the Corridor. TM 2 studied operational issues and needs in the Corridor. The TM 3 presented the recommendations for the Smart Tourist Corridor. Each of the TMs contains detailed surveys, analysis, and conclusions that are summarized in this final report. For more technical information on the development of the final recommendations, please refer to the three TMs, available on the CANAMEX website (www.canamex.org).
Significant research and analysis for the Coalition was conducted and summarized in a series of working papers by Economic Research Associates (ERA). These working papers were prepared in 2000 and 2001, and recommended the Smart Tourism Corridor concept. The research and analysis conducted for these reports formed the basis for the research and analysis for this study.
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CANAMEX Final Report Methodology
2. METHODOLOGY
2.1 Overall
The Western Transportation Institute defined a methodology for determining the tourism, operational and traveler needs of the Smart Tourist Corridor, and then developing the strategic initiatives and recommendations contained in this final report. The methodology was designed to collect necessary information, provide for appropriate review, and develop the framework and alternatives for the implementation of the Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative.
2.2 Outreach Findings and Vision
The first phase of WTI’s research (detailed in TM 1) was designed to identify tourism needs and develop a preliminary vision for the Smart Tourist Corridor. Tourism needs were established through extensive outreach with public and private stakeholders. These needs provided the inspiration and foundation for the development of a framework and prioritized alternatives.
2.3 Corridor Operations
In the second phase of research (TM 2), WTI studied operational needs in the Corridor. Again using an outreach process, researchers worked with transportation and emergency services personnel in the Corridor states to document existing infrastructure, and identify infrastructure needs and operational procedures that will promote safe and efficient travel. This research included a review of emerging technologies that will impact Corridor travel.
2.4 ITS Infrastructure and Benefits
The final phase of research (TM 3) presented recommendations. The preliminary concepts developed in TM 1 were refined based on the operational considerations identified in phase 2, as well as ongoing feedback from stakeholders. The outcome was the Strategic Initiatives described herein.
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CANAMEX Final Report Outreach Findings and Vision
3. TRAVEL AND TOURISM OUTREACH FINDINGS
3.1 Introduction
In order to develop a vision for the Smart Tourist Corridor, extensive outreach was conducted to establish the challenges and goals of the agencies that manage facilities or provide services to travelers in the region. More than 70 interviews were conducted with public and private sector agencies in all five states, including federal, state, and local agencies; Native American tribal organizations; and private tourism and communications enterprises. The following sections are provided as a summary, and more detailed information can be found in TM 1: Travel and Tourism Outreach Findings and Vision, dated October 1, 2003.
The public sector interview instrument developed for the stakeholder interviews was designed to produce a profile of the agency, its clients, its information systems and needs, and its transportation challenges. Rather than use a traditional survey instrument with pre-defined responses, researchers used a questionnaire in order to facilitate discussion and generate detailed information. WTI conducted 57 interviews with 39 public sector stakeholder agencies. As shown in Figure 6, stakeholder views represent a broad range of federal, state, local and Native American organizations. State - Transportation8%State - Tourism20%State - Parks, Recreation, Conservation & Natural Resources13%Bureau of Land Management8%Forest Service8%National Park Service15%State - Indian Affairs3%Native American Tribes10%All 0ther Agencies15%
Figure 6: Distribution of Stakeholders
Interview questions covered the following topic areas:
• Mission: The mission and function of the agency.
• Marketing or Strategic Plan: Whether the agency had a marketing or strategic plan.
• Geographic Area: The agency's perspective on the geographic definition of the I-15 Smart Tourist Corridor region
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• Public & Private Partners: An overview of the partnerships the agency has for the development and dissemination of information
• Customer Issues: The primary issues the agency faces in understanding and responding to their customers.
• General Statewide, Regional or Local Issues: The general issues facing the agency from a statewide, regional and/or local perspective.
• Visitor Information: The type of information currently provided to visitors and the communications mechanism.
• Gaps In Visitor Information: The agency's perspective of gaps in the information they currently are providing and related gaps or issues in the delivery of the information to the visitor.
• Attraction Promotion: The scope and degree of tourism information provided by the agency.
• Priority Needs: The major issues or needs facing the agency today from an inclusive perspective.
• Transportation Challenges: The primary transportation issues or needs from the perspective of the tourism and recreation agencies.
• Information Systems: A generalized overview of the current information systems and information management employed by the agency.
The information derived from the stakeholder interviews was used to identify the highest priority needs and develop advanced technology concepts for an integrated travel and tourism information system to address them. Additional interviews and meetings were conducted to review, refine and prioritize the preliminary concepts. Since a large number of stakeholders represented tourism agencies and recreation facilities, the priority information issues identified here tend to reflect the needs of those agencies more than others.
In an effort to understand the issues and needs of the private sector and identify partnership opportunities, individual and group interviews were conducted. The private sector interviews were conducted during the period of June through July 2003 through telephone interviews and group meetings. Individual telephone interviews were conducted in Montana and Idaho, and two discussion group meetings were conducted in Utah and Arizona. Interviews for Nevada were conducted as part of a Las Vegas outreach workshop. A complete list of private sector organizations interviewed is included in Table 3.
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Table 3: Private Sector Outreach
Organizations
Montana
Gold West Country
Russell Country
Butte Chamber of Commerce
Great Falls Chamber of Commerce
Helena Convention& Visitors Bureau
Idaho
Lava Hot Springs Foundation
Pocatello Chamber of Commerce - Convention & Visitors Bureau
Rexburg Chamber of Commerce
Sun Valley Company
Yellowstone Bear World
Nevada
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
Utah
Utah Travel Council
Arizona
Arizona Automobile Association
Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce
Madden Media
Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau
Sedona Chamber of Commerce
Sierra Vista Convention and Visitors Bureau
Miscellaneous
In-Vehicle Telemetric
Telcordia
Qualcomm
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3.2 Summary of Outreach Findings
Most of the initial interviews were conducted with public sector agencies. Their information needs were categorized into seven general challenges:
• Providing adequate personal safety information
• Expanding access to visitor information
• Developing and maintaining the tourism infrastructure
• Providing transportation information and options
• Access and use of public lands
• Managing visitor expectations
• Upgrading and integrating technology and communications
The individual information needs were then studied and prioritized. The highest ranked public sector needs, based on the number of times the stakeholders discussed them were:
1. Developing multi-language information materials
2. Expanding facility specific/facility use information
3. Conducting consumer research on changing visitor visitation patterns and activities
4. Expanding facility use advisories
5. Expanding facility use personal safety advisories.
Additional interviews were conducted with private sector agencies to compare public and private needs. As shown in Table 4, public and private sector priorities are relatively consistent. Differences in their priorities are often attributable to the mission of the agencies; for example, private sector agencies do not own or manage public lands, so would not view “Access and Use of Public Lands” as a priority.
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Table 4: Prioritization of Public and Private Sector Needs PrivatePublic1. Providing adequate personal safety information. Facility Use AdvisoriesX Facility Use Personal SafetyX Travel AdvisoriesX CongestionX IncidentsX ConstructionX ParkingX Multi-Modal OptionsXX2. Expanding access to visitor information. Multi-LanguageXX Facility Specific/Facility UseX Interpretative MaterialsX Regionalized InformationXX Pre-Trip Information DeliveryXX En-Route Information DeliveryXX Congestion and ParkingX3. Developing and maintaining the tourism economy & tourism infrastructure. Consumer/Visitor ResearchXX Tourism Infrastructure DevelopmentX Changing Activity PatternsXX Changing Visitation PatternsXX Transportation Infrastructure MaintenanceXX Tourism Program DevelopmentX4. Providing transportation information and options. Directional SignageXX Multi-Modal OptionsXX Transportation Infrastructure MaintenanceXX Travel AdvisoriesXX ParkingX5. Access and use of public lands. Use Rules and RegulationsX Off-Highway Vehicle RegulationsX AccessX StewardshipX6. Managing visitor expectations. Facility Multi-UseX Multi-LanguageXX Upgrading and integrating technology & communications. Real Time InformationXXSectorIssues and Opportunities
Another significant finding from the stakeholder interviews was that the priority information needs are linked through a variety of relationships. Since many of the information needs are applicable to multiple categories (or “challenges”), addressing a single information issue can help an agency meet multiple challenges. For example, if a public lands agency develops a technology solution that allows it to disseminate real-time travel advisories, it will have the capability to address at least three challenges: up-grading its communication system, providing enhanced personal safety information, and facilitating access of public lands.
The cross-cutting nature of information issues also demonstrates the importance of information sharing and integration. Developing an innovative solution to an information need can address
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the challenges of multiple agencies, as well as reach a much larger segment of the public, if the data can be incorporated into an integrated, accessible system. This was the guiding vision behind the Smart Tourist Concept presented in Section 5: Strategic Initiatives.
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4. CORRIDOR OPERATIONS
4.1 Purpose
Corridor Operations are those activities that, taken together, make possible the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the means by which accurate and timely information can be collected, processed and shared by public and private agencies, and then distributed to the traveling public in a way that will enhance safety and provide convenient access to tourism information. The following aspects of Corridor operations have each described and analyzed:
i Information Exchange
i Incident Management
i Communications / Telematics
First, however, it is necessary to briefly examine information needs as determined by tourism agencies and other Corridor stakeholders.
4.2 Traveler Information Needs
The information needs of Corridor travelers include pre-trip, en-route and arrival information regarding specific travel destinations as well as information about changing travel conditions. Needs vary according to travelers’ objectives for the journey, as well as to varying conditions along the route. For example, while some travelers will undoubtedly have a fixed destination in mind, others will search for attractive destinations of opportunity once they begin their trip. Information availability must accommodate and be responsive to these changing needs.
The information needs of Corridor travelers can be satisfied either actively or passively. That is, travelers may make inquiries to obtain information or, alternatively, information may be provided to them without any action on their part. For example, travelers may wish to determine the availability of specific amenities at several alternative destinations before making a final decision. Pre-trip or en-route information most likely will be obtained from the public or private venue under consideration. In this case travelers have pro-actively initiated the information “search.” However, travelers often don’t know when a planned route to the selected destination has been closed due to e.g., a serious accident. Providing this information to travelers so that they can make informed decisions regarding alternative routing, or otherwise modify their plans, must be initiated by the public agency responsible for operating the roadway.
Based on outreach activities described earlier, travel and tourism needs identified by stakeholders are show in Table 5.
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Table 5: Travel and Tourism Information Needs SafetyFacility Use AdvisoriesXXReal TimeXXFacility Use Personal SafetyXXReal TimeXXTravel AdvisoriesXXXXCongestionXXXIncidentsXXXConstructionXXXXParkingXXMulti-Modal OptionsXXXVisitor InformationMulti-LanguageXXXXFacility Specific/Facility UseXXInterpretative MaterialsXXRegionalized Tourism InformationXXXXPre-Trip Info DeliveryXEn-Route Info DeliverXXCongestion & ParkingXXTourism Infrastructure Consumer ResearchXXXXInfrastructure DevelopmentXChanging Activity PatternsXXXXChanging Visitation PatternsXInfrastructure MaintenanceN/AN/AN/AN/AProgram DevelopmentXTransportationSignage - DirectionalXXXMulti-ModalXXInfrastructure MaintenanceN/AN/AN/AN/ATravel AdvisoriesXXXXParkingXXPublic LandsUse Rules and RegulationsXXOff-Highway Vehicle RegulationsXXAccessXXStewardshipXManaging Visitor ExpectationsFacility Multi-Use XXMulti-LanguageXXXXTechnology & CommunicationsReal Time CommunicationsXXXXAlong-the-WayApproaching DestinationDestination Area ChallengesInformation NeedsPre-Trip
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4.3 Information Exchange
Existing Information Exchange in the CANAMEX Corridor, although effective within and around urban areas is, in general, inadequate to meet the needs of, and provide optimum benefits to, Corridor travelers particularly in rural areas. Tourism information, e.g., en-route and in the vicinity of destinations, usually is not available in real time, frequently not available at all in rural areas, and suffers from inadequate resources and the slow emergence and adoption of new technologies.
While the states have made significant investments in Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure with which to provide important roadway information, more is warranted as evidenced by the great amount of ITS components planned and programmed for future deployment.
Many opportunities exist to improve information exchange. For example, providing “seamless” information to travelers is just now beginning as a part of institutional coordination. However, it will require significant investment and institutional “buy-in” to improve information coordination and to reap the available benefits for travelers. Effective information exchange depends a great deal among the CANAMEX states and among members of the tourism
Figure 7: Information Exchange Linkages
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community.
There are many means by which Corridor information may be exchanged. All travelers within the CANAMEX Corridor (tourists, freight carriers, and those people using it for every day travel) want to avail themselves of up-to-date and accurate information. While some travelers obtain needed information before they begin their journey, others do not. However, virtually all travelers benefit from en-route information, whether it is related to tourism and recreation, or to traffic conditions and weather along the way and / or at their destinations. Selected information exchange linkages for segments of the journey are shown in Figure 7.
Information being exchanged within the Corridor is primarily limited to travel safety and remote, automated collection of travel-related data such as weather and road surface conditions, roadway incidents, etc. Automated acquisition and decimation of tourism related information is spotty and is primarily via the Internet where tourism venues and agencies may post amenities, costs, availability of accommodations, etc. on their websites. In addition, tourism information is available at Visitor Information Centers throughout the Corridor.
Distribution of travel information frequently is through Highway Advisory Radio, Dynamic Message Signs, National 511, and other ITS devices.
Chapter 5 describes Strategic Initiatives and concepts, which when adopted and implemented, will greatly expand the ability to acquire, process and distribute tourism and travel information throughout the Corridor. In addition, recommendations contained in the Technical Memoranda preceding this Final Report describe additional specific actions that would significantly improve Corridor information exchange.
ITS components are the essential tools for collection of travel, weather, road surface condition and a host of other operational data that may become an impediment to the traveler. They are the primary, although not exclusive, means by which transportation agencies communicate with travelers in the CANAMEX Corridor. Collection and processing of this information by public agencies enable officials to determine what information must be provided to Corridor travelers, as well as how and when it becomes available.
ITS components within the Corridor include:
i Highway Advisory Radio,
i Highway Closure and Restriction System,
i Closed Circuit Television,
i Dynamic Message Signs,
i Road Weather Information Systems,
i Traffic Monitoring Systems,
i Nationwide Traveler Information Number 511, and
i Transportation Management Centers
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Figure 8: Traffic Management Center
Virtually all ITS components play a critical role in determining conditions that might compromise Corridor travel safety and provide important and appropriate information to travelers.
Each State ITS Coordinator inventoried ITS components in the Corridor. Existing components and those planned and/or programmed for deployment were plotted in a GIS format on base maps of each State. Shown below in Figure 9 is the GIS map for Idaho showing existing and planned ITS components.
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􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀
􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 X SBX NBX SBX NBX WBX EBPPPPPPPPPPPPPXXPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 86 15􀀀
􀀀
YellowstoneYellowstoneNational ParkNational ParkGrand TetonGrand TetonNational ParkNational ParkCraters TheCraters of TheMoon NationalMoon NationalMonumentMonumentWildernessWildernessCity RocksCity Of RocksNational ReservNational Reserv
Figure 9: Existing and Planned ITS components in Idaho.
4.4 Incident Management
An incident is any planned or unplanned event resulting in disruption of normal travel during a particular time and at a specific location along the transportation network.
Unplanned incidents occur spontaneously along the transportation network and often threaten the lives of both the public and emergency service providers. However, tourists, long-haul freight carriers and regional residents using the Corridor for everyday travel as well as other Corridor travelers must also be made aware of planned incidents, such as maintenance and construction activities so that they may choose to adjust their travel plans as warranted. These latter incidents pose more of an inconvenience to travelers and usually do not amount to a threat to safety.
Few Corridor functions, if any, are of greater importance than Incident Management (IM). When it is performed “right,“ it is a significant enhancement to traveler safety. When it is done “wrong” the results can be disastrous for law enforcement officers, as well as other responders, at incident scenes. In addition, there is a growing number of wrongful death lawsuits filed against incident commanders and government agencies alleging mismanagement of incident sites.
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Figure 10: Roadway Incident
Most of the CANAMEX Corridor is located in rural areas of the five states. Incident management in any rural area is problematic. Mountainous terrain compromises cell phone coverage to some urban areas; some rural highways have little or no coverage. In fact, some areas of the Corridor are without wireless coverage. Frequently, motorists reporting accidents or other unplanned incidents requiring emergency response do not know their own location. Moreover, once an incident is located, responders need much more time to reach the scene than their urban counterparts. Preliminary research by WTI indicates that the time to learn of an accident is two to three times longer where no wireless coverage exists. The response times in remote sections of the Corridor often are measured in hours rather than minutes.
Rural Incident Management usually is organized at the county or regional level of government. The most important part of IM is the ability to communicate effectively. Ironically, first responders in rural areas view this as the most under funded element and serious deficiency of IM. As with Information Exchange, effective Incident Management also depends a great deal on institutional coordination.
Particularly at the local level, current Incident Management practices are sometimes fraught with correctable problems, such as inadequate communication, inadequate training, traffic control and inattention to passing traffic. State Incident Management, on the other hand, generally is well organized, and adequate resources exist within the Corridor. Both Arizona and Idaho have statewide Incident Management plans. Utah, Montana and Nevada have disaster plans that include some Incident Management elements.
Among the travel and tourism information needs identified by stakeholders are: travel safety advisories, availability of real time information, personal safety, and notice of en-route incidents and en-route construction and maintenance.
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Numerous recommendations for improving Incident Management practices are contained in Technical Memorandum 2.
4.5 Telematics
Telecommunications is the science and technology of transmitting information over great distances in the form of electromagnetic signals. Telematics is the science of long-distance transmission of computerized information; in other words it is the intersection of telecommunications and computing. The importance of telematics throughout the Corridor cannot be overstated. It is the foundation upon which rests the entire concept of information exchange and incident management. Moreover, the primary objectives of enhancing safety and convenience of tourists, freight carriers, local residents and other Corridor travelers cannot be attained without a robust applied telematics system. Information Exchange and Incident Management are dependent on an effective telecommunications and telematics system.
Some of the principal travel and tourism needs as expressed by tourism agencies and individuals as part of Traveler and Tourism Outreach are listed below. The ability of agencies to be responsive to these expressed needs is entirely dependent on telematics.
• Information regarding facility use, regionalized tourism information
• Pre-trip information delivery, en-route information delivery
• Information about congestion and parking at tourism venues
• Rules and regulations at venues
• Access to public lands
• The ability to obtain real-time information
• Public / Private Partnerships
• Availability of technological devices
• Provision of information directly to travelers and other institutional information outlets
Currently wire line is the most pervasive, effective and reliable means by which to communicate within the CANAMEX Corridor. However, this method of communication often depends upon the initiative of tourists (and other travelers) that they sometimes find time-consuming and inconvenient. As a result, information that would benefit tourists’ travel experience often is difficult to obtain. Wireless communication, however, has the potential to become the dominant form over the next decade.
Effective wireless communication in the Corridor is sporadic uneven due to mountainous terrain and business decisions by carriers not to invest in these areas. Telecommunications companies are reluctant to construct repeater towers in rural areas due to their substantial costs in relation to revenues. In addition, local residents often oppose repeater towers due to their ungainly appearance on the landscape. Thus, mountainous terrain and lack of adequate repeater towers combine to make cell phone effectiveness in the Corridor very problematic. There are extensive “gaps” in cell phone coverage. Satellite phones, on the other hand, are almost one hundred percent effective in virtually any terrain, with the possible exception of canyons. Currently, the
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Corridor’s wireless communication focus is primarily use of voice communication, often in emergency situations.
Fortunately, the Federal Communications Commission has mandated that all telecommunication companies assure their products can support wireless E911 (Enhanced 911) by 2005. Satellite telephones, as costs drop and business models are adjusted, will most likely proliferate in the market and wireless E911, accessible through satellite phones, will gradually replace many of today’s cell phones. Thus, Corridor travelers will benefit greatly with regard to their safety and ready access to tourism and related venues. In addition to reporting incidents that can be immediately and accurately located, tourists will be able to obtain “concierge” services en-route to their destinations. For example, availability of accommodations, prices, directions to venues, amenities, rules and regulation, parking, etc. will be available on demand. The outlook for significantly improved wireless communication in the Corridor is very promising.
4.6 Institutional Coordination
As suggested earlier, Corridor travelers seldom care which state they are traveling in when seeking (or wishing to provide) information. As a result, DMS and other electronic media in one state should provide important information about conditions affecting travel at least in abutting states and, preferably, in all Corridor states. Moreover, information that may affect traveler decisions from outside the Corridor should also be available. Therefore, it is incumbent on CANAMEX states to ensure that operating policies, protocols and communication systems are in place so that information available to tourists and other travelers is “seamless.” Institutional coordination and operating systems integration are essential to provision of truly comprehensive information.
Examples of information states should exchange include, incidents, weather conditions, roadway surface condition, travel delays, DMS messages, changes to 511 messages, and so forth. Also, it is important to formally document agreements among the states in Intergovernmental Agreements.
Many opportunities exist to improve information exchange. For example, the provision of “seamless” information to travelers is just now beginning as a part of institutional coordination. However, it will require significant investment and institutional “buy-in” to improve information coordination and to reap the available benefits for travelers.
4.7 Recommended Actions
Clearly, there exist deficiencies in the operational capability within the Corridor. Listed below are the primary recommendations developed for addressing them. TM 2 discusses these recommendations in greater detail.
4.7.1 Information Exchange
i The type of information exchanged via the national information number, 511, should be significantly broadened within the limits of each state’s statutes and policies.
i Protocols for assuring that Corridor information is compatible and seamless among the CANAMEX states should be developed.
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i States and other agencies should develop information exchange procedures that foster an ongoing working relationship between Departments of Transportation and state/private sector tourism agencies.
4.7.2 Incident Management
i Corridor states without a Statewide Incident Management Plan should develop one. Proactive and frequent interagency Incident Response training should be realistic and apropos to situations usually encountered by first responders. In addition, each state should partner with local responders to increase coordination and provide training when warranted.
i Agreements among agencies should be formal and documented thus, limiting exposure to litigation.
i All maintenance and operating staff as well as emergency responders should receive training in how to set up traffic control zones in accordance with the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
4.7.3 Telematics and Telecommunications
i A project should be undertaken to determine the limits and quality of the region’s telecommunications infrastructure.
i Additional funds should allocated to capital, operating and maintenance costs for improving communication components of ITS.
i CANAMEX states’ policies and statutes that may constrain the allocation of funds for improving telematics, and entering into partnerships with the private sector, should be modified.
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5. SMART TOURIST VISION AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
This chapter describes the preliminary vision and initial concepts developed for the Smart Tourist Corridor. It then presents the final strategic initiatives that resulted from the research and outreach process.
5.1 Smart Tourist Vision
The Smart Tourist vision (or concept) was a framework for addressing the challenges and priority needs identified through the stakeholder interview process. It is not intended to be project specific, but rather to present an approach that affords transportation agencies and tourism organizations the ability to provide and receive information, manage facilities and services, and meet traveler needs beyond their own jurisdictional borders. At the heart of this vision is creating the ability for existing databases to communicate on a multi-state basis, so that all travelers have easy access to tourism information and real-time advisories (CANAMEX Gateway: multi-portal website), leading to improved traveler experiences and increased tourism activity.
From the stakeholder interviews, key characteristics of the framework were identified. From these, it became possible to identify the inter-relationship between the various needs (Figure 11) and the vision (Figure 12), and then create the concept for an Integrated Travel and Tourism Information System (ITTIS).
InterInter--relationshipsrelationshipsProvide for Public-PrivatePartnershipOpportunitiesProfile Users,Needs andServicesPromote TourismPreserve Culture and HistoryProtect Natural ResourcesManagePerformanceOf TransportationSystems andFacilitiesProvide andFacilities
Figure 11: Inter-relationship of Goals
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Access AllAccess and Information For AllPromote and Brand CANAMEX ConceptCollect Data and Provide for ConnectivityProvide for Visitor Needs, Services and ExpectationsDisseminate Travel & Tourism Information & Manage Transportation Systems/FacilitiesEnhance Visitor ExperienceCreate Integrated GatewayDevelop Smart Device SystemIncrease Economic Activity & Manage Transportation Facilities
Figure 12: Vision Outcome
5.1.1 Institutional Integration
Through years of experience, public and private agencies in the United States have learned that they need a strong institutional foundation and positive relationship with their partners to successfully implement and operate technological improvements (Figure 13). In planning for the implementation of transportation technology, it is critical to recognize that technology can be the enabler that allows diverse agencies to work together.
Communication and coordination between tourism organizations and the creation of a catalyst to ensure cooperation were commonly identified needs throughout the outreach activities conducted during this project. To address these needs the Tourism Network concept was conceived. A cohesive mechanism to facilitate cooperation between tourism organizations and departments of transportation and achieve the corridor-wide vision, the Tourism Network would:
• Provide an organizational structure for addressing institutional issues,
• Develop a branding program and marketing plan,
• Identify and manage data to be fused to allow for seamless information,
• Address international visitor needs by determining language requirements for the CANAMEX Gateway/Multi-portal website,
• Discuss changing visitation, recreation activity, demographic and trip patterns,
• Establish monitoring and reservation system requirements to allow for demand forecasts to be made on attractions and services, and
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• Determine the level of discounts that could be created to modify visitor travel behavior. Institutional FoundationAdvanced TechnologiesInstitutional SupportTransportation/TourismNeeds
Figure 13: Institutional Foundation
5.1.2 Integrated Travel and Tourism Information System
From the vision, the research team conceived a preliminary concept for an Integrated Travel and Tourism Information System (ITTIS). The ITTIS would create a gateway to receive and disseminate information, deploy smart devices and build an infrastructure to assist operating agencies with managing facilities and traveler demands to ultimately generate economic activity. The system would be composed of five modules that could be deployed in phases and leverage existing transportation and tourism initiatives. The modules would also be flexible enough to incorporate future Corridor traveler and agency needs. The initial components were:
• CANAMEX Gateway/Multi-portal website: a Corridor-wide portal that links multiple agencies and organizations, and provides the travelers with multi-language information regarding attractions, services, and regulations to enhance their experience. It also creates a database platform for in-vehicle systems.
• Tourist Information Center: allows visitors to obtain real-time travel and tourism information about road conditions, attractions, lodging and parking availability, cultural and environmental stewardship education information, all through various devices.
• Smart Devices and Financial Settlement Center: provides visitors with electronic payment cards and smart devices managed by a central Financial Settlement Center and
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coordinated with the Tourism Network to establish discounts with merchants and device holders. The devices allow for the collection of consumer data, facilitate information dissemination, and can be used as a catalyst to support transportation demand alternatives.
• Traffic Management Center: collects transportation operations data and provides information through state road reporting systems to Visitor Gateway/ Clearinghouse. Information is also disseminated to travelers through a variety of en route advanced technologies.
• Multi-modal Center: a one-stop shop for multi-modal transportation alternatives (bus, air, rail) that horizontally integrates information and educates and informs travelers of availability.
The long-term vision or concept envisioned the integration of the five modules (Figure 14). The additional component, the Tourism Network, would require a formal institutional partnership among agencies, as explained previously. TouristInformationCenterFinancialSettlementCenterTrafficManagement Centerkiosksmart device writersmart device readerpdatrafficmanagement/monitoringnetworkremote accessterminalMulti-modalManagementCenterdemand actuatedtransitVMSVMSVMSVMSVMSVMSAirIntercity BusRailTourist Gateway/ClearinghouseTourismDOT
Figure 14: Long-term Vision
Based on the outreach to the private sector and their feedback on the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Initiative vision of an Integrated Travel and Tourism System at the Las Vegas workshop, the following priorities were ascertained for each module. The outreach conducted during these meetings was intended to, in part, serve as a critique of a “strawman” vision that could later be refined and detailed.
Based on the outreach activities these priorities there was, highest support from the private sector for the Tourism Network, Visitor Gateway/ Clearinghouse, and Tourist Information Center, and moderate support for the Multi-modal Center (Table 6). It was not surprising that there was
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lowest support for the Traffic Management Center in that the private sector may not perceive that as a role for them.
Table 6: Implementation Prioritization
Integrated Travel and Tourism Information System Module Prioritizing
Private
Public
Tourism Network
High
Low
CANAMEX Gateway/Website & Clearinghouse
High
High
Tourist Information Center
High
High
Smart Devices and Financial Settlement Center
Low
Moderate
Traffic Management Center
Low
Moderate
Multi-Modal Center
Moderate
High
Based on preliminary review of the concepts by stakeholders, public and private agencies gave the greatest support to the development of the Visitor Gateway Clearinghouse, Tourism Network and the Tourist Information Center. As each of these concepts are key elements of a coordinated and integrated information system, it is not surprising that both public and private sector organizations selected these as their highest priorities.
The modules of the ITTIS were developed during the first phase of this project (TM 1). Following further research, stakeholder input, and the completion of TM 2 and TM 3, the vision and these modules were refined, resulting in the four strategic initiatives detailed below. Table 7 shows how the preliminary modules compare with the Strategic Initiatives.
Table 7: Comparison of Preliminary Concept Modules to Strategic Initiatives
ITTIS MODULES
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
• Tourism Network
• Visitor Gateway/Clearinghouse
• Tourist Information Center
• Smart Devices & Financial Settlement Center
• Traffic Management Center
• Multi-Modal Center
• CANAMEX Gateway and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System
• CANAMEX Communications
• Smart Devices Development
• Safety/Security and Operations
In general, most of the elements of the Tourism Network, Visitor Gateway and Tourist Information Center have been folded into the CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System. The Smart Devices and Financial Settlement Center is now the Smart Devices Development initiative, and elements of the Traffic Management Center are contained in both the CANAMEX Communications initiative and the Safety/Security and Operations initiative.
5.2 Summary of Strategic Initiatives for the Smart Tourist Corridor
Based on all of the meetings, research, analysis, and stakeholder input to this study, we have identified four strategic initiatives that comprise the Smart Tourist Corridor program. These strategic initiatives are:
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1. Create the CANAMEX Gateway, which includes a Multi-portal Website and a Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System
2. Develop the CANAMEX Communications Systems
3. Promote Private Sector Smart Devices Development Opportunities
4. Bolster Safety/Security and Operations in the Corridor
The four strategic initiatives are all linked together and interdependent. Many of the initiatives cannot be successful implemented without the completion of others.
Table 8 below shows how these initiatives of the Smart Tourist Corridor address the initial challenges identified in the stakeholder outreach process. The table shows where the initiative has a primary role in addressing the challenge (shown as a “P”), a secondary role in addressing the challenge (shown as an “S”), or no role (shown as a blank).
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Table 8: Relationship of Tourism Outreach Findings to Recommended Smart Tourism Corridor Program
SMART TOURIST CORRIDOR INITIATIVES
CANAMEX GATEWAY AND DATA GATHERING /SHARING SYSTEM
CANAMEX COMMUNICATIONS
PRIVATE SECTOR SMART DEVICES
SAFETY/SECURITY AND OPERATIONS
OUTREACH FINDINGS
PROVIDING PERSONAL SAFETY INFORMATION
P
P
P
P
EXPANDING ACCESS TO VISITOR INFORMATION
P
P
P
S
DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING THE TOURISM ECONOMY AND TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
P
S
S
PROVIDING TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION AND OPTIONS
P
P
P
S
PROVIDING INFORMATION ON ACCESS AND USE OF PUBLIC LANDS
P
S
S
MANAGING VISITOR EXPECTATIONS
P
S
S
UPGRADING AND INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS
P
P
P
P
The four strategic initiatives represent a bold, unique, innovative and feasible Smart Tourist Corridor program. For example, the creation of a computerized data storage and sharing system (data warehouse) is a simple and feasible concept. However, the scope of the data warehouse, requiring a multi-state partnership, including multiple agencies within each state and federal agencies, is bold and unique. Nowhere in the United States have multiple agencies developed such a concept.
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Each of the initiatives is described below. For more detail on the initiatives, please refer to TM 3.
5.2.1 CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System
The multi-state data gathering/sharing system and CANAMEX Gateway website will form the heart of the Smart Tourist Corridor concept. It will also create the basis for private sector companies to provide information services in the corridor.
The main component of the data gathering/sharing system will be a data warehouse (Figure 15) that will function as the central repository for all corridor related data. This data will include both transportation data (such as construction activities, weather, and real-time traffic conditions) and tourism data (such as services, locations, and special events). Private Sector Transportation Information Access (smart devices) Private Sector Tourist Information Services TMC (multi-modal) Mobile TMC Tourist Information Center (services) CANAMEXGateway DataGatheringDataGatheringMedia Public Information Access SourcesMediaPublic Information Access Sources
Figure 15: CANAMEX Gateway Data Flows
The data warehouse is a critical component to the success of the Smart Tourist Corridor concept. The data warehouse will be the collection point of data from multiple states, and multiple agencies within each of the states. The data warehouse will gather, process, organize, archive,
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and distribute the data to appropriate recipients. It is imperative that the data be accurate, reliable, and real-time for the success of the project.
The purpose of the real-time data gathering is to enhance the amount and accuracy of transportation data in the corridor, especially in rural areas. Two methods to collect additional data include traditional methods by state DOT’s, and innovative methods through public/private partnerships.
The traditional methods include further deployment of roadway weather information systems (RWIS), traffic monitoring stations (TMS), and closed circuit television cameras (CCTV). The innovative methods include several options, as follows:
• Partner with the private sector to deploy additional traditional data collection devices in the corridor, in both urban areas and around major attractions.
• Partner with private sector organizations that have access to probe vehicle data in the corridor. Examples include Qualcomm, which collects data from the trucking industry, and telematics companies such as Onstar.
• Use DOT and other state agency vehicles as probes, assuming deployment of automated vehicle location systems on fleet vehicles.
The CANAMEX Gateway will consist of a website that provides the traveling public with access to the information in the data warehouse. The Gateway will add value to the existing state tourism and transportation websites, rather than replace them, and be a corridor wide concept supported through a branding initiative and other tourism marketing activities.
Another component of this initiative is tourism center information exchange. The purpose of the tourism center information exchange is to expand data access (for both transportation and tourism related information) to those organizations involved in the tourism industry. The exchange will use available technology to push relevant data and notifications to relevant organizations. For example, if an incident occurred on I-15 in southern Utah, the information would be broadcast (via e-mail) to those tourist organizations affected, such as Zion/Bryce Canyon National Parks and St. George’s Visitor Center.
There are several important considerations that will make this concept a success. First, tourism organizations will be provided with accurate, real-time information. Second, tourist organizations will not be bombarded with useless notifications (i.e. Tucson won’t receive notifications on the closing of Bozeman Pass in Montana). Third, the tourist organizations will not have to search or look for the information, it will be provided (“pushed”) to them.
Table 9 provides a summary of the major elements that comprise the initiative.
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Table 9: Description of CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System Initiative Elements
CANAMEX GATEWAY:MULTI-PORTAL WEBSITE &MULTI-STATE DATA GATHERING/SHARING SYSTEM INITIATIVE
ELEMENT
DESCRIPTION
Data Gathering
All of the DOT’s are already collecting transportation and weather data in the corridor, but additional data collection is needed, especially in rural areas. Accurate, reliable, and timely data form the foundation of any information system.
Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV)
CCTV deployment will be supplemented throughout the corridor; especially in rural areas (the major urban areas already have extensive coverage). CCTV provides travelers with real-time images of traffic and weather conditions. Several DOT’s indicated that Internet sites with CCTV images are the most popular (highest number of “hits”).
Traffic Monitoring Stations (TMS)
TMS are electronic sensors used by DOT’s to determine the amount and speed of traffic on sections of roadway. The TMS will be deployed in rural areas to supplement data being collected in the urban areas.
Transportation Management Center (TMC) Upgrades
TMC’s are the operations center that control and operate of the ITS field devices. With the installation of additional devices, the TMC’s will need to add capacity to control the devices.
Roadway Weather Information Systems (RWIS)
RWIS are electronic sensors that provide information on prevailing weather conditions, pavement conditions, and also collect traffic data. Additional RWIS will be deployed throughout the corridor.
Data Warehouse
The data warehouse will be the heart of the Smart Tourism Corridor. The data warehouse will contain of the all transportation and tourism related data for the corridor. The data warehouse is not actually a physical warehouse, but will be a virtual repository consisting of several servers (computers) and communications that can be located anywhere. .
Tourist Center Information Exchange
Processess/Procedures Development
To expedite and insure the success of the information exchange, a study will be conducted to determine and develop the methods and process by which the tourist centers can exchange information. The study will also determine the type of information to be exchanged, quality assurance, timeliness, etc, and those centers that should be part of the system.
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CANAMEX GATEWAY:MULTI-PORTAL WEBSITE &MULTI-STATE DATA GATHERING/SHARING SYSTEM INITIATIVE (CONTINUED)
ELEMENT
DESCRIPTION
Information Exchange System
The information exchange system will be an automated service provided to tourist centers. The system will automatically push relevant transportation/tourism data to the appropriate centers, in real-time. The system will be Internet/e-mail based, and rely on the information in the data warehouse.
Branding/Marketing Campaign for Gateway
As part of the development and launch of the CANAMEX Gateway website, a study to develop logos, graphics, slogans, etc. will be conducted.
Visitor Surveys
As part of the CANAMEX Gateway website, survey options will be created to query travelers on preferences, attitudes, and trends. This information can then be shared with the tourism industry throughout the Corridor. This information will also be used to periodically review and adjust the application and deployment of the Smart Tourist Corridor.
CANAMEX Gateway Website
The CANAMEX gateway website will be the user interface that the traveling public uses to access information in the data warehouse.
Table 10 presents the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations for this initiative.
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Table 10: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for the CANAMEX Gateway Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System Elements
ORGANIZATION
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
State DOTs
• Collect transportation and weather data.
• Insure accuracy, relevancy, and timeliness of transportation/weather data.
• Provide transportation/weather data to data warehouse.
• Participate in information exchange with other DOTs and partners. Operate/maintain ITS field devices, including traffic monitoring stations, camera • s,
rting communications systems.
roadway weather monitoring stations, and suppo
• Operate/maintain Traffic Management Center.
•
Develop data sharing partnership agreements for involvement of private sector
State Tourism Agencies •
• ourism data. Work with tourism
rds, and processes for collection and
•
for website
s.
rism organizations to develop process/procedures for the information
• n for CANAMEX Gateway website (may be
ebsite. Refine marketing and other Smart
Collect tourism data. Insure accuracy, relevancy, an
d timeliness of torganizations to develop guidelines, standa
maintenance of tourism data. Provide tourism data to data ware
house. • Maintain/operate CANAMEX gateway website (may be outsourced). Develop marketing campaign
• Participate in information exchange with other tourism organizations and state DOTWork with tou
exchange network. Develop branding/marketing campaig
outsourced).
• Collect/review visitor survey data from w
Tourist Corridor efforts accordingly.
Tourism Information
Centers
on exchange procedures.
• Collect tourism data.
• Provide tourism data to data warehouse.
• Work with State Tourism Agencies to define informati
Participate in information exchange with other agencies.
• Provide transportation, weather and tourism data to travelers.
Private Sector
Transportation
te agencies.
rganizations and state DOTs.
Information Providers
• Develop/deploy innovative data collection techniques to supplement DOT data
• Develop data sharing agreements with sta
• Participate in information exchange with other tourism o
Private Sector Tourism
Venues
nd state DOTs.
• Provides amenities, rates, directions and other information to data warehouse
• Participate in information exchange with other tourism organizations a
State and Federal Land
Managers • Provide tourism/transportation data to data warehouse.
• Work with State Tourism Agencies to define information exchange procedures.
• Collect tourism and transportation data.
• Help define information exchange procedures; participate in ongoing information exchange with other agencies. • Provide transportation, weather, and tourism information to travelers
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The present value estimated cost for this initiative is $27,051,000. This includes study costs, development costs, capital costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs. 5.2.2 CANAMEX Communications This initiative consists of a series of actions to expand and strengthen the communications infrastructure in the CANAMEX Corridor. A major component will be to expand the state
DOT’s use of traditional and new ITS methods for disseminating information to the traveling public. These methods include dynamic message signs (DMS), highway advisory radio (HAR), and enhanced 511. The enhan
ced
511 concept ouri
includes not only multi-modal transportation
information, but also access to t sm servic ion. F he focus is to expand
their deployment further in rural areas of the c or. Data will be managed and flow through
es informat
or DMS’s, t
orrid
Traffic Management Centers (TMC), which collect transportation operations data through a variety of field devices and sensors, and provide information through state road reporting systems to the various dissemination systems. The TMC is similar in scope to a NASA Mission Control Center, but for traffic operations and management. Figure 16: CANAMEX Communications Data Flows
TMC
Mobile TMC
Public
Transportation
Information
Private Transportation Information
Data Warehouse/
Gateway
Public
Tourism
Information
Private
Tourism
Information
DMS
511
Communications
Fiber
Wire
Cellular
Field Devices
HAR
ITS
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Additional components of this initiative will include completing cellular coverage in the corridor, providing communications to ITS field devices, and providing satellite phones for state DOT responder/maintenance personnel in rural areas. Completing the cellular coverage in the
corridor is essential for the personal safety of travelers in the corridor, and is also essential for
Table 11 provides a summary of the major elements that comprise the initiative.
the application of innovative private sector technologies. Communications to ITS field devices, especially in rural areas, can be difficult; however, through a variety of methods, including cellular, satellite, phone line, and radio communications can be efficiently provided. Satellite phones are a valuable option for communications, especially during emergencies and incident response. The cost and usability of satellite communications have improved significantly very recently, and will be even more viable in the future.
Figure 17: Example of Dynamic Message Sign
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Table 11: Description of CANAMEX Communications Initiative Elements
CANAMEX COMMUNICATIONS INITIATIVE
ELEMENT
ELEMENT DESCRIPTION
Dynamic Message Signs (DMS)
DMS’s are the large visual displays on the side or over the roadway that provide travelers with pertinent information en-route. DMS’s will be provided at key traveler decision points (e.g., before a major interchange, near major attractions, etc.) throughout the corridor.
Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)
HAR is a radio broadcast dedicated to provide travel related information. HAR can provide more detailed information than DMS’s, and is useful in partnership with DMS’s at key decision points. HAR is also currently used at some attractions to provide usage information.
Enhanced 511 Deployment
511 in the national number for travel information, and is currently deployed in Montana, Utah, and Arizona. 511 will be deployed in the near future in Nevada and Idaho. Currently, 511 provides transportation information; enhanced 511 will expand the current system to provide tourism information. This information will include attractions, parks, hotels, restaurants, shopping, etc…
Communications for Field Devices
To control ITS field devices (such as dynamic message signs, cameras, etc…), communications links need to be established between the TMC and the devices. In the rural areas, a variety of communications media (e.g., cellular, satellite, fiber optic, phone lines, etc…) will be utilized to provide a cost effective communication network. The specific communications for the devices will be determined as part for the design process for the devices.
Satellite Phones for Rural Maintenance Districts
The costs of using satellite based devices are becoming cost competitive with other wireless communications options. The satellite devices offer some unique advantages, especially in rural areas where cellular coverage is not complete, or may be obscured by canyons, mountains, etc… Satellite devices will also function when other land based systems are knocked out by natural events or power failures. This initiative will deploy a test sample of satellite phones in rural districts for testing and evaluation.
Increased Cellular Phone Coverage
Cellular coverage is not complete in the corridor, especially in the mountainous and canyon regions. For personal safety (access to 911) and information access (access to 511), coverage needs to completed in the corridor.
Table 12 presents the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations for this initiative.
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Table 12: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for the CANAMEX Communications Initiative
ORGANIZATION
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
State DOTs
• Operate/maintain ITS field devices, including dynamic message signs, highway advisory radio, and supporting communications systems.
• Utilize ITS field devices (dynamic message signs and highway advisory radio) to disseminate information to travelers.
• Operate/maintain enhanced 511 system.
• Operate/maintain Traffic Management Center.
• Deploy and utilize satellite phones in rural districts
Private Sector Communications
Companies
• communications infrastructure in rural areas to
improve corridor coverage
Develop and deploy cellular
The present value estimated cost for this initiative is $36,189,000. This includes study costs,
development costs, capital costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs.
pment of an institutional and
these and/or other vendors to bring these services in the Corridor, especially in the
rural areas.
5.2.3 Promote Private Sector Smart Devices Development Opportunities Smart devices (i.e., cellular phones, personal digital assistants, in-vehicle units, etc.) are rapidly developing in usage and applications. A key objective of the Smart Tourism Corridor is for the state agencies to prepare for private sector deployment of tourism and transportation applications in the Corridor. This preparation includes physical elements such as the collection of reliable, real-time transportation data and tourism data, plus the develo
regulatory environment conducive to private sector investment. Several vendors already have deployed tourism service applications and mapping/routing applications for cellular phones in other parts of the country and the world. Partnering may be needed withPrivate Source Pr
ivate Sector
Providers Cellular Network
Data W
Gateway
Figure 18: Smart Devices Data Flows
Cellular Phone/PDA
arehouse/
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In the near future, cell phones will also offer unique opportunities for financial services in the Corridor. Japan and South Korea are already using cell phones for financial services (basically functioning as digital ATM cards), and these services will soon be available in the U.S.
Table 13 provides a summary of the major elements that comprise the initiative.
Table 13: Description of Private Sector Smart Devices Initiative
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE USE OF PRIVATE SECTOR SMART DEVICES
ELEMENT
ELEMENT DESCRIPTION
Smart Devices Deployment Initiatives
Smart Devices include cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDA’s), portable computers, and in-vehicle navigation systems that have Internet access. These devices can be used to access any of the information on the Internet, including the CANAMEX Gateway website. Further, many companies are offering travel and tourism applications/services for Smart Devices that can enhance the visitor experience in the corridor. By creating the data warehouse and providing incentives, CANAMEX can attract these companies to deploy in the corridor.
Table 14 presents the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations for this initiative.
Table 14: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for Private Sector Smart Devices
ORGANIZATION
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
State DOTs
• Develop data sharing partnership agreements for involvement of private sector for smart device traveler information services
Private Sector Transportation Information Providers
• Develop and deploy smart device traveler information services in the corridor
• Supplement DOT collected transportation data with additional sources.
• Develop data sharing agreements with state agencies
The present value estimated cost for this initiative is $1,500,000. This includes study costs,
ent costs, capital costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs.
developm
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5.2.4 Safety/Security and Operations in the Corridor
The Safety/Security and Operations initiative is an important and broad series of activities that covers many of the recommendations from TM 2. The major recommendations include developing the public sector infrastructure for E911, providing training and developing interagency agreements for enhancing state DOT incident management, Corridor wide implementation for Amber Alerts, and DOT information exchange.
The CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website will enhance the homeland security efforts in the Corridor. The increased level of monitoring of the Corridor will also provide relevant, reliable and real-time information for critical security decisions. For the DOT’s that maintain/operate the Corridor, the additional data and information exchange will foster better coordination and cooperation among maintenance districts bordering adjacent states.
In other words, very nature of creating the data warehouse, with the corresponding information exchange, will facilitate all aspects of Corridor operations by making it easier for agencies with diverse missions to share information and work together. Traffic operations and incident management response will be faster when all relevant agencies can share information, and thereby coordinate resources quickly.
Table 15 provides a summary of the major elements that comprise the initiative.
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Table 15: Description of Safety/Security and Operations Elements
SAFETY/SECURITY AND OPERATIONS IN THE CORRIDOR
ELEMENT
ELEMENT DESCRIPTION
Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) Systems for Maintenance Vehicles
AVL is a global positioning system (GPS) based device that tracks the location and movement of vehicles. The system can be used to more efficiently deploy maintenance vehicles, track maintenance vehicles for safety/security, to coordinate activities, and to also automatically provide transportation/weather data.
DOT Information Exchange
Similar to the tourist center information exchange, the DOT exchange will push relevant transportation, construction, incident and other data from the data warehouse to each DOT.
Amber Alerts
Amber Alert is the national system used to help regain kidnapped children by providing notifications on DMS’s and other media. Each state in the corridor already participates in the program, and the additional DMS’ and other information sources provided as part of the CANAMEX Smart Tourism Corridor can and will be used to broaden the reach of future Amber Alerts.
Mobile Transportation Management Centers for Rural Areas
The Mobile TMC’s will consist of 1 mobile operations center vehicle, 2 portable DMS, 1 portable HAR, 2 portable CCTV, and 1 support/service vehicle. The mobile TMC’s will be used in rural areas to respond to emergency events (e.g., wildfires), construction zones, incidents, crashes, special event activities (e.g., state fairs, festivals, sporting events, etc…), and other occasions requiring on the spot traffic control and information.
E-911
In order to implement E-911 (E-911 is an enhancement to the 911 system that provides the location of cellular based 911 calls), the call centers (Public service Access Points – PSAP’s) will need to upgrade their equipment.
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Table 16 presents the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations for this initiative.
Table 16: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for Safety/Security and Operations
ORGANIZATION
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
State DOTs
• Participate in information exchange with other DOTs and partners.
• Operate/maintain Traffic Management Center.
• Utilize additional ITS devices for Amber Alerts
• Deploy and utilize automatic vehicle location systems.
• Deploy and utilize Mobile TMCs
The present value estimated cost for this initiative is $6,222,000. This includes study costs,
art Tourist Corridor Recommendations
e
the objectives and principles in the Final
nly transportation data but also tourism
information, and partnering with the private sector.
development costs, capital costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs. 5.3 Assessment of CANAMEX Sm
to CANAMEX Corridor Final Plan In April 2001, the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition adopted an overall Final Plan for the CANAMEX Corridor. One of the five major recommendations of the Final Plan was to develop a Smart Tourist Corridor. The Final Plan recommendations included some guidance on th
Smart Tourist Corridor, but also suggested a further detailed study to develop the parameters. Table 17 below provides an assessment of the recommendations from the Final Plan compared to the recommendations developed for this current Smart Tourist Corridor Study. The table shows that the current recommendations hold true to
Plan, while further building on supporting concepts. As shown in Table 17, the Smart Tourist Corridor Study recommends a significant increase in the number of ITS devices in the corridor, which is consistent with the current planning efforts of each state. The Smart Tourist Corridor Study also adds important supporting elements, including data gathering, sharing/disseminating not o
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Table 17: Assessment of CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Recommendations to CANAMEX Corridor Final Plan
Smart Tourism Corridor, December 2003 Recommendations
CANAMEX Corridor Final Plan, April 2001 Recommendations
Develop a Smart Tourism Corridor, divided into six strategic initiatives
Develop a Smart Tourist system that will provide static and real-time information to travelers
Data Gathering
Not included
Recommend 237 Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV)
Not included
Recommend 584 Traffic Monitoring Systems
Not included
Recommend Transportation Management Center Upgrades
Not included
Recommend 43 Roadway Weather Information Systems
Not included
CANAMEX Gateway Website
Included CANAMEX Website
Develop data gathering/sharing/dissemination system (data warehouse).
Portions included --development of an integrated information sharing system (CT-MAIN) for transportation data
Not recommended
Kiosks (10 sites)
Also includes sharing traveler and tourism data
Not included
Tourist Center Information Exchange
Portions included
Information exchange system
Not included
Develop brand for corridor
Included
Develop marketing campaign
Included
Visitor surveys
Not included
Communications
Portions included
Satellite phones
Not included
Field device communications
Included
Increases cellular coverage
Included
Information Dissemination
Portions included
Enhanced 511 system
Not included
Recommend 105 additional dynamic message signs
Dynamic Message Signs (22)
Recommend 43 additional HAR sites
Highway Advisory Radio (11 sites)
Private Sector Smart Devices Initiative
Not included
Safety/Security and Operations
Portions included
Automatic Vehicle Location Systems
Not included
DOT information exchange
Included
Amber Alerts
Not included
Mobile Transportation Management Centers
Not included
E-911
Not included
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6. BENEFITS OF THE SMART TOURIST CORRIDOR
6.1 Smart Tourist Corridor Costs
6.1.1 Corridor Costs by Initiative
Table 18 shows the summary of costs by strategic initiative for the CANAMEX Corridor and the total cost, including capital investment and operational and maintenance costs over the next ten years, is estimated to be $70,962,000.
Table 18. Summary of Costs by Strategic Initiative
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
COST ($)
COMMENTS
CANAMEX Gateway
$27,051,000
Includes RWIS, CCTV, TMS, TMC Upgrades, Data Warehouse, Website, and DOT/Tourist center information exchange.
CANAMEX Communications
$36,189,000
Includes satellite phones, improved cell coverage, DMS, HAR, and Enhanced 511.
Smart Devices
$1,500,000
Includes seed money and costs for public-private partnerships and data sharing.
Safety/Security and Operations
$6,222,000
Includes AVL, Mobile TMC, E-911, etc. Costs related to information exchange and Amber alerts are not included since they are accounted for in CANAMEX Gateway costs.
TOTAL
$70,962,000
Includes capital investment costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs.
6.1.2 Corridor Costs by State
This section illustrates the method used to allocate the cost among the states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Montana.
Each CANAMEX state is anticipated to invest a common percentage of the costs related to the implementation of the CANAMEX data warehouse and gateway website, etc., all of which will benefit the CANAMEX Corridor as a whole. Cost-sharing should also take into consideration the fact that some states will benefit more from the strategic initiatives than others. Table 19 shows the usage of the CANAMEX Corridor by the five states, in terms of vehicle-miles.
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Table 19. Usage of the CANAMEX Corridor by State
STATE
AADT *
HIGHWAY LENGTH (MILES)
AVG. ANNUAL DAILY VEHICLE-MILES
RELATIVE RATIO
AZ
75,694
387
29,293,492
0.485
NV
58,789
124
7,289,861
0.121
UT
49,481
401
19,841,824
0.328
ID
11,595
196
2,272,555
0.038
MT
4,302
396
1,703,592
0.028
TOTAL
199,861
1,504
60,401,323
1.000
* The AADT statistics are based on the 1998 existing typical rural and large urban route performance along the CANAMEX Corridor; the numbers for various routes are averaged for each state.
In light of these considerations, the cost of CANAMEX strategic initiatives is shown for each state in Table 20.
First, the total cost is broken down into Planned ITS Device Costs and Other Costs. The former include the total life-cycle cost of planned ITS devices, including RWIS, CCTV, TMS, DMS, and HAR, and costs almost $50 million (second column in Table 20). Other Costs are defined as all the costs related to the strategic initiatives other than those of planned ITS devices; they total approximately $21 million (third column in Table 20).
In order for each state of the CANAMEX Coalition to invest an equitable amount of money in the initiatives, the Technical Advisory Committee Members and the ITS Coordinators have agreed that the five states would first equally share the 15% of the Other Costs (i.e. one-fifth of the 15%; about $600,000 for each state, fourth column in Table 20), and the remaining 85% of it will be shared among the states based on the distribution of vehicle-miles traveled along the Corridor (sixth column in Table 20).
Table 20. Cost of CANAMEX Strategic Initiatives by State
STATE
PLANNED ITS DEVICE LIFE-CYCLE COST ($)
OTHER COSTS ($)
3%SHARE OF OTHER COSTS ($)
RELATIVE RATIO
WEIGHTED SHARE OF OTHER COSTS ($)
TOTAL COST ($)*
AZ
$13,916,000
$9,296,095
$630,600
0.485
$8,665,495
$23,212,095
NV
$3,972,000
$2,792,507
$630,600
0.121
$2,161,907
$6,764,507
UT
$18,942,000
$6,490,976
$630,600
0.328
$5,860,376
$25,432,976
ID
$10,025,000
$1,309,546
$630,600
0.038
$678,946
$11,334,546
MT
$3,087,000
$1,130,876
$630,600
0.028
$500,276
$4,217,876
TOTAL
$49,942,000
$21,020,000
$3,153,000 (15% of other costs)
1.000
$17,867,000 (85% of other costs)
$70,962,000
* Total Cost equals columns 2 + 4+ 6
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6.1.3 Corridor Costs by Stakeholder Group
This section illustrates the method to allocate the cost among the stakeholder groups, i.e., the State DOTs, the tourism industry, and the traveling public.
For the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives, no costs have been assigned to the traveling public. Costs are distributed among the State DOTs and the tourism industry. The results are shown in Table 21. Over the ten-year period, the total cost for the tourism industry within the five CANAMEX states is estimated to be about $2.6 million, or about a quarter of a million dollars per year. On average, this is about $50,000 per year per state.
Table 21. Summary of CANAMEX Costs by Stakeholder Group
SMART TOURIST CORRIDOR INITIATIVE
STATE DOT’S
($)
TOURISM INDUSTRY
($)
TRAVELING PUBLIC
($)
TOTAL ESTIMATED COST ($)
CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website and Multi-State Data System
Data Gathering
$24,601,000
0
0
$24,601,000
Data Warehouse
$567,500
$567,500
0
$1,135,000
CANAMEX Website
0
$760,000
0
$760,000
Tourist Center Info Exchange
0
$555,000
0
$555,000
CANAMEX Communications
$36,189,000
0
0
$36,189,000
Smart Devices
$750,000
$750,000
0
$1,500,000
Safety/Security and Operations
$6,222,000
0
0
$6,222,000
TOTALS
68,329,500
2,632,500
0
70, 962,000
Note that we assumed that the State DOTs will bear the costs of data gathering, safety/security and operations, and communications, while the tourism industry will bear the costs of CANAMEX website and tourist center information exchange. In addition, the costs of the data warehouse and smart devices will be equally shared between the State DOTs and the tourism industry.
6.2 Corridor Benefits
The CANAMEX Corridor will promote the economic and transportation linkages among Canada, the United States, and Mexico, support increased tourism, and improve incident management for rural communities.
Implementation of recommendations from TMs #1, #2 and #3 would yield significant benefits to all the CANAMEX states. All Corridor travelers will benefit from significantly increased safety and security. Also, residents within and in the vicinity of the Corridor will experience not only
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safety and mobility benefits, but also improved viability of the economy within the Corridor resulting from increased tourism and, ultimately, jobs. The 2001 CANAMEX Corridor Plan determined that the Smart Tourist Corridor Bold Initiative would add 113,000 additional jobs to the Corridor work force through 2030, over and above naturally occurring job growth.
6.2.1 Corridor Benefits by Initiative
The Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives are intertwined and interdependent. Therefore, it is impossible to isolate the benefits of one strategic initiative from another. Instead, the corridor benefits will be illustrated through cost reductions and tourism revenues.
Cost Reductions: Reduction in Travel Time, Accident, and Weather Delays
The Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives will lead to significant cost reductions, as shown in Table 22. It is estimated that over a period of ten years (2005-2014) deployment of ITS devices within the Corridor and software support for traveler information collection, processing and dissemination will save almost $66 million as a result of reduction in accidents (20%) and weather-related delays, as shown in Table 22. These benefits will be achieved by providing timely information to the public traveling along the Corridor.
Table 22. Cost Savings as a Result of the Smart Tourist Initiatives
TIME PERIOD
TRAVEL TIME SAVINGS (VEHICLE HOURS)
COST SAVINGS DUE TO REDUCTION IN ACCIDENT AND WEATHER DELAYS ($)
2005-2009
Benefits
18,000,000 per year
$4,900,000 per year
Five Year Total
90,000,000
$ 24,500,000
2010-2014
Benefits
49,000,000 per year
$8,250,000 per year
Five Year Total
245,000,000
$ 41,200,000
2005 – 2014 TOTAL
335,000,000
$ 65,700,000
In addition, over the same period, travel time savings of 335 million vehicle-hours are expected to accrue as a result of the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives. These travel time savings can be translated into another $2 billion over the ten-year period. However, since these savings are somewhat abstract, they have not been used in calculating the benefit to cost ratios.
Tourism Revenues: “One More Day” Counts
As a result of implementing the strategic initiatives, the improved safety, efficiency, and convenience in travel will attract more tourists to the CANAMEX states and/or encourage
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CANAMEX Final Report Benefits
tourists to stay longer. This section explains the method used to estimate the additional tourism revenues generated by the Smart Tourist initiatives.
Researchers collected tourism data for each state in the Corridor, including number of tourists visiting the state and their average daily expenditures. These data are presented in Table 23.
Table 23: State Tourism Data Collected for Cost Benefit Analysis
STATE
ANNUAL NUMBER OF VISITORS (DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL)
AVERAGE DAILY EXPENDITURES BY NONRESIDENT VISITORS ($)
AZ
29,700,000
$108/day
NV
47,900,000
$134/day
UT
17,300,000
$101/day
ID
21,700,000
$180/day
MT
9,600,000
$139/day
Researchers assumed (conservatively) that over the next ten years, 1% of the tourists visiting each CANAMEX State will stay one day longer each year as a result of the CANAMEX Smart Tourist initiatives. The added tourism revenues for each state were calculated according to the following formula:
R = E*P*V*(365*AADT)/100
In this formula, R stands for the added annual tourism revenue as a result of the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Initiatives. E stands for the average daily expenditures of non-resident tourists.
The P factor accounts for the percentage of travelers who are non-resident tourists, which was assumed to be 39.1% based on the following previous research. On average, 39.1% of the nonresident travelers in Montana (a CANAMEX state) are tourists (with the purpose of trip as
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CANAMEX Final Report Benefits
vacation), according to the State of Montana 2002 nonresident expenditure profiles available at http://www.itrr.umt.edu/nonres/ExpProfile02.pdf.
The V factor stands for the number of persons per vehicle, i.e., average vehicle occupancy (which was assumed to be 1.3 based on an FHWA study available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/toolbox/portland_methodology_user.htm). AADT is the Average Annual Daily Vehicle-Miles indicating the number of travelers visiting the Corridor each year (as shown in Table 19).
Researchers calculated these tourism revenue estimates using currently available data from each state. However, each state uses its own methodology for calculating the data. As a result, characteristics of the data vary from state to state, due to such factors as:
• Year in which most recent data was collected
• Components of average daily tourism expenditures
• Survey methods (panels, household surveys, intercept surveys)
Because of these variations in the data, and the assumptions used in the formula, the estimates are not directly comparable on a state-to-state basis. As a result, the estimates should be considered in relative terms rather than in absolute terms. The intent of this analysis was to provide a general indication or magnitude of the potential benefits of the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives.
If stakeholder agencies determine that it would be beneficial to calculate more accurate estimates of increased tourism revenues, the Coalition may want to consider conducting further research on this topic. The tourism industry could assist in identifying and collecting consistent data in each state, so that detailed, up-to-date, and comparable estimates could be calculated.
In addition to the enormous cost savings, the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives will boost the economic growth of the CANAMEX states, and in particular, benefit the tourism industry. As shown in Table 24, over a period of ten years (2005-2014), additional revenues of almost one billion dollars will be generated for the CANAMEX states, significantly increasing the benefit-to-cost ratio of the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives.
In the 2001 CANAMEX Corridor Plan, the report projected that state tourism revenues would increase by one percent (1%) for the first ten year period of implementation of the Smart Tourist Corridor. These increased revenues would occur from additional tourists coming to the Corridor region, and spending more money. WTI has determined that the benefits from assuming that one percent of the tourists spend one more day each year in the corridor are roughly equivalent to the assumption of an increase of one percent for state tourism revenues. Thus, to be conservative in our benefit calculations, we did not assume any additional benefit from increasing the base number of tourists in the Corridor as a result of Smart Tourist Corridor implementation.
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CANAMEX Final Report Benefits
6.2.2 Corridor Benefits by State
In light of the usage of the CANAMEX Corridor by the five states (see Table 19), the anticipated benefits of the CANAMEX strategic initiatives were determined for each state, as shown in Table 24. Table 24 shows the cost reductions, added tourism revenues, and benefit-to-cost ratios for each of the five states.
Table 24. Benefit of CANAMEX Strategic Initiatives by State
STATE
TIME PERIOD
TOTAL COST ($)
COST SAVINGS DUE TO REDUCTION IN ACCIDENT AND WEATHER DELAYS ($)
ADDED TOURISM REVENUES ($)
OVERALL BENEFIT-TO-COST RATIO
2005-2009
$11,882,500
$75,845,707
2010-2014
$19,982,000
$75,845,707
AZ
10 Yr. TOTAL
$23,212,095
$31,864,500
$151,691,413
7.91
2005-2009
$2,964,500
$345,804,883
2010-2014
$4,985,200
$345,804,883
NV
10 Yr. TOTAL
$6,764,507
$7,949,700
$146,176,196
22.78
2005-2009
$8,036,000
$46,366,641
2010-2014
$13,513,600
$46,366,641
UT
10 Yr. TOTAL
$25,432,976
$21,549,600
$92,733,281
4.99
2005-2009
$931,000
$19,363,731
2010-2014
$1,565,600
$19,363,731
ID
10 Yr. TOTAL
$11,334,546
$2,496,600
$38,727,463
3.64
2005-2009
$686,000
$5,560,303
2010-2014
$1,153,600
$5,560,303
MT
10 Yr. TOTAL
$4,217,876
$1,839,600
$11,120,607
3.07
ALL FIVE STATES
10 Yr. TOTAL
$70,962,000
$65,700,000
$440,424,214
7.1
Corridor benefits were estimated taking into account the following considerations.
• The estimated benefit from travel time savings is not included in the table.
• The tourism revenues were calculated from increased expenditures by nonresident tourists and do not include the indirect and induced impacts, i.e., increased business expenditures made by travel-related enterprises and those employed in travel-related occupations, and state & local taxes.
• In addition to the quantifiable benefits, other benefits that will accrue as a result of implementing the strategic initiatives including: additional jobs, reductions in vehicle emissions and improved air quality, reduced queuing at National Parks, etc.
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CANAMEX Final Report Benefits
6.2.3 Corridor Benefits by Stakeholder Group
The CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor strategic initiatives benefit stakeholders in the five states. Table 25 shows the benefits to the principal stakeholder groups: state departments of transportation, the tourism industry, and the traveling public.
Table 25. Summary of CANAMEX Benefits by Stakeholder Group
STAKEHOLDER GROUP
ESTIMATED BENEFITS ($)
ESTIMATED COST ($)
OVERALL BENEFIT-TO-COST RATIO
State DOTs
$65,700,000 *
$68,329,500
1.0
Tourism Industry
$440,424,214 ♣
$2,632,500
167.3
Traveling Public
$65,700,000
0
NA
TOTAL
$506,124,214
$70, 962,000
7.1
* The cost savings due to reduction in accident and weather delays directly benefit the traveling public and are also considered as benefits to the State DOTs.
♣ For the tourism industry, there are limited data available to use as a basis for allocating Corridor benefits between private sector agencies and public sector agencies. The Corridor will facilitate efforts by public sector tourism agencies to better realize their strategic goals.
In addition to the quantifiable benefits, a broad range of stakeholders will realize many qualitative benefits including:
• Public agencies will be able to exchange essential information and coordinate services.
• Tourism agencies will be able to coordinate services with public agencies, conduct better consumer research, and offer targeted trip information to clients.
• Departments of transportation will be able to use accurate and timely road and weather information to improve traveler safety and facilitate maintenance.
• Tourists and other travelers will have access to real-time travel and safety information through improved communication devices.
• Standardized data exchange will facilitate public-private partnerships, and present opportunities for privatization of certain public services.
• Native American tribes will benefit from enhanced institutional relationships with public sector tourism and transportation agencies, and economic development resulting from increased tourism.
• Increased safety and efficiency for freight haulers will spur the economy and increase employment on a local, regional, state and international basis.
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CANAMEX Final Report Benefits
In summary, the Smart Tourist Corridor strategic initiatives are estimated to result in cost reductions of almost $66 million and increased tourism revenues of more than $400 million over the next ten years, resulting in an overall benefit-to-cost ratio of 7.1. The initiatives are also expected to result in travel time saving of 335 million vehicle hours over the ten-year time period. The four strateg

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Final Report
CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor
Prepared by
Steve Albert, Director
Patrick M. Wright, T.E, Senior Research Associate
John E. Taylor, P.E., Deputy Director
Xianming Shi, Ph.D., Research Associate
Scott Lee, Research Assistant
of
Western Transportation Institute
College of Engineering
Montana State University – Bozeman
Prepared for the
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition:
Montana Department of Transportation
Idaho Transportation Department
Utah Department of Transportation
Nevada Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
in cooperation with the
U.S. Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Administration
March 24, 2004 CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The CANAMEX Corridor is an important trade, tourism and travel way for the United States, Mexico and Canada. In terms of population, it is the fastest growing region in the country, and includes four of the five fastest growing states. More than 65 percent of the freight moving in the Corridor originated outside of the region. Travel in the Corridor has increased 130 percent since 1970. The Corridor includes some of the most visited sites in America, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, and Hoover Dam. While large portions of the Corridor are in rural areas, it also passes directly through the urban areas of Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
In 1999, the Governors of Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona created the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition (CCC) to spur economic development along the corridor. Following the development of a corridor plan in 2001, the CCC retained the Western Transportation Institute of Montana State University – Bozeman in 2002 to develop the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative. WTI surveyed the needs of the CANAMEX states’ tourism industry, analyzed each state’s Intelligent Transportation System assets and plans, and researched communications technologies and information collection and dissemination systems. This Final Report is the action plan for development of the Smart Tourist Corridor.
Goals
The two primary goals of the Smart Tourist Corridor are:
• Increase tourism spending and length of stays by enhancing the tourist experience Rural economic development is a shared challenge among the CANAMEX states. For most rural areas, tourism supports local businesses, generates revenues and provides local employment. The Corridor has great potential for promoting tourism development through public/private partnerships; by extending visits “one more day”, the Smart Tourist Corridor can significantly enhance rural economies.
• Establish CANAMEX as the safest, most secure and most efficient corridor for travelers within and through the region. The personal safety of travelers is the highest priority of the CANAMEX states, and is supported by the Federal Highway Administration, as evidenced in SAFETEA and other legislation. Security has increased in importance for all stakeholders in the post-9/11 environment. Efficiency of the transportation system is also essential for the region’s continued economic competitiveness.
Smart Tourist Corridor Elements
Survey data collected through this project show that the number one need of travelers is information: what are the traffic and weather conditions on the road, and what can we do and where can we stay along the way? The Smart Tourist Corridor proposes to use a combination of emerging technologies and interstate/interagency coordination to provide seamless safety and tourism information to corridor travelers.
The plan for the Smart Tourist Corridor includes four integrated elements:
• The CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal website element will create a safety and tourism data gathering/sharing system that will form the heart of the Smart Tourist Corridor
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CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
concept. This element will make it possible for all participating agencies to receive relevant, real-time information and alerts, and will allow for the creation of the CANAMEX Gateway website, which will provide Corridor-wide information to travelers.
• The CANAMEX Communications element will consist of technological improvements that facilitate the dissemination of tourism and safety information to travelers, such as completing cellular coverage in the Corridor.
• Smart Devices Development consists of public-private partnerships that expand the ability of tourists and other travelers to use smart devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and in-vehicle navigation units throughout the Corridor.
• Safety, Security and Operations Improvements are a broad range of activities that will foster better coordination and cooperation among emergency response agencies throughout the corridor, as well as increased safety and improved emergency response.
These initiatives provide a powerful opportunity to integrate the informational databases of tourism and transportation agencies; in other words, combine the tourism inventory of venues and attractions with transportation’s real-time travel advisories to improve the visitor experience and thereby increase tourist activity. In addition, these initiatives will promote and facilitate safe travel along the entire Corridor.
Costs & Funding
Full implementation of the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor requires an estimated $70 million over 10 years for equipment, systems development, and operations and maintenance. Of this amount, approximately $27 million is necessary to develop the data sharing system and establish a multi-portal website to service the enhanced information services (“CANAMEX Gateway”), and approximately $36 million is necessary for development of the technological infrastructure (“CANAMEX Communications”). Most of the costs (an estimated $68 of the $70 million total) will be the responsibility of state departments of transportation; a variety of federal funding opportunities exist to provide potential resources to the states.
The Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative will also yield significant benefits to all of the CANAMEX states, including increased tourism activity, improved visitor experience, increased safety and improved mobility for travelers, and ultimately job development for residents and their communities. Estimates indicate cost reductions of almost $66 million from reduced accident and weather delays and increased tourism revenues of more than 400 million dollars for the CANAMEX states over the next ten years, yielding an overall benefit-to-cost ratio of 7.1. As shown in Table 1, the benefit-to-cost ratio for public and private tourist entities is substantially larger at 167, reflecting their relatively smaller cost responsibility of only $2.6 million for the five states over 10 years. The estimated benefit to the tourism industry is based on a conservative formula that assumes that 1% of tourists will spend “one more day” in the region as a result of the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives.
Western Transportation Institute Page ii
CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
Table 1: Summary of CANAMEX Benefits by Stakeholder Group
STAKEHOLDER GROUP
ESTIMATED BENEFITS ($)
ESTIMATED COST ($)
OVERALL BENEFIT-TO-COST RATIO
State DOTs
$65,700,000 *
$68,329,500
1.0
Tourism Industry
$440,424,214
$2,632,500
167.3
Traveling Public
$65,700,000
$0
n/a
TOTAL
$506,124,214
$70, 962,000
7.1
* The cost savings due to reduction in accident and weather delays directly benefit the traveling public and are also counted as benefits to the State DOTs as it is in the DOTs’ strategic interest to move people quickly and safely through the transportation systems.
Next Steps
Section 8 of this report contains a full discussion of project next steps for each initiative, many of which are dependent on the receipt of federal funds. There are many things the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition and its partner agencies, Transportation and Tourism, can do now to advance development of the Smart Tourist Corridor. The major opportunities are listed here (Table 2). Once funding has been secured, qualified contractors should be engaged to design the specific system linkages and protocols, and undertake operation of the Smart Tourist Corridor.
Western Transportation Institute Page iii
CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
Table 2: Smart Tourist Corridor -- Recommended Next Steps
Action Item
Responsibility
Support
Approval
Timeline (Initiation Date)
Earmark:
Advocate and obtain federal multi-year earmark for ITS implementation of Smart Corridor Operations
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
CANAMEX Project Office, DOTs, Congressional Delegations
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Spring 2004. Dependent upon congressional action.
Framework:
Establish organizational framework for managing project implementation and business plan
CANAMEX Project Office
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Spring 2004
Standards/Architecture:
Identify ITS standards & architecture for deployment of data gathering and information sharing networks. Conduct gap analysis of existing standards and systems. Secure special project funding from FHWA.
ITS Coordinators
CANAMEX Project Office
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Summer 2004
CANAMEX Gateway Website:
Create plan/prototype for website. Determine method for website implementation.
CANAMEX Project Office
ITS Coordinators; State Tourism Agencies
Spring 2004
Tourism Brand:
Define Tourism brand for the Corridor
State Tourism Agencies
CANAMEX Project Office
State Tourism Agencies
Summer 2004
Tourism Partnerships:
Develop data sharing partnership agreements and identify joint tourism promotional opportunities. Develop means for collecting data.
State Tourism Agencies
CANAMEX Project Office
Spring 2004
International Outreach:
Engage Alberta, Sonora, federal land management agencies and the Department of Customs & Border Protection and define roles
CANAMEX Project Office; states of Montana and Arizona
State Tourism Agencies
Summer 2004
Funding Opportunities:
Explore alternative federal funding opportunities to define tourism and traveler data sets that should be incorporated in the traveler information system (EDA, state and private resources etc.)
CANAMEX Project Office
State Tourism Agencies, CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Summer 2004
Communications Plan:
Develop an integrated corridor deployment plan to map wireless coverage of the various communications systems deployed throughout the corridor.
CANAMEX Project Office
State CIOs and technology agencies; ITS Coordinators
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Fall 2004
Western Transportation Institute Page iv
CANAMEX Final Report Executive Summary
Action Item
Responsibility
Support
Approval
Timeline (Initiation Date)
ITS Device Deployment and Tactical Plan
Develop a coordinated plan to continue deployment of ITS devices in the corridor.
ITS Coordinators
CANAMEX Project Office
Fall 2004
511 Linkage and Enhancement:
Each of the CANAMEX states should adopt protocols to link their 511 systems and establish a project timeline for deployment. Also develop standards for adding tourism information, concierge services, and public lands information to 511.
ITS Coordinators
CANAMEX Project Office;
State Tourism Agencies
Summer 2004
Private Sector / Telematics New Technology Testing:
Promote the five-state, 1500 mile CANAMEX Corridor as an attractive platform for the private sector to test & pilot projects and as an opportunity to develop innovative risk and revenue sharing partnerships.
CANAMEX Project Office
ITS Coordinators; State Tourism Agencies
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Fall 2004
State Border Operations:
Formalize multi-state agreements for DOTs and law enforcement agencies to coordinate operations at state borders (already noted in standards)
ITS Coordinators
DOT Directors
CANAMEX Corridor Coalition
Fall 2004
Incident Management Plans:
Develop incident management plans within each state, and share with other states.
ITS Coordinators
DOT Directors
Fall 2004
Cost-Benefit Analysis:
Collect additional data to refine estimates of increased tourism revenue potential for each state.
CANAMEX Project Office
State Tourism Agencies
To be determined based on need for the data.
Western Transportation Institute Page v
CANAMEX Final Report Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER
This document has been prepared and disseminated under the sponsorship of the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition, which includes the Departments of Transportation from Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation, Canada and Mexico. The lead state and contractual authority is the Montana Department of Transportation, which has accepted this document as the final report of the project. These state departments of transportation and the Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University – Bozeman provide this document in the interest of information exchange. The Montana Department of Transportation and the Western Transportation Institute, MSU – Bozeman assume no liability for its contents or use thereof. The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the opinions, findings and conclusions presented herein. The authors are not responsible for any misrepresentation of data from the referenced vendors, manufacturers, or representatives. The Montana Department of Transportation and the Western Transportation Institute, MSU – Bozeman do not endorse products or manufacturers of the systems reported herein.
ALTERNATIVE FORMAT STATEMENT
The Montana Department of Transportation attempts to provide reasonable accommodations for any known disability that may interfere with a person participating in any service, program, or activity for the department. Alternative accessible formats of this document will be provided upon request. For further information, call (406) 444-6331 (V) or 1-800-335-7592 (T).
Western Transportation Institute Page vi
CANAMEX Final Report Acknowledgements
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Western Transportation Institute would like to extend its sincere appreciation to Carol Sanger, Executive Director of the CANAMEX Corridor Project, for her guidance and assistance throughout the project. WTI would not have been able to develop this report without the participation of the organizations listed below.
Montana
Montana Department of Commerce
Montana Department of Transportation Blackfoot Nation
Montana Historical Society
MT - Lewis & Clarke Bicentennial
MT - National Park Service
Gold West Country
Great Falls Chamber of Commerce
Helena Convention and Visitors Bureau
Russell Country
Butte Chamber of Commerce
Idaho
Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation
Idaho Department of Commerce
Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation
Idaho Transportation Department
Shoshone - Bannock Tribe
ID - Bureau of Land Management
ID - National Park Service
ID - U.S. Forest Service
Lava Hot Springs Foundation
Pocatello Chamber of Commerce
Rexburg Chamber of Commerce
Sun Valley Company
Yellowstone Bear World
Nevada
Nevada Commission on Tourism
Nevada Department of Transportation
Nevada Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority
Las Vegas Paiute Tribe
NV - Bureau of Land Management
NV - Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
NV - Lake Mead National Recreation Area
NV - U.S. Forest Service
Utah
Utah Department of Transportation
Utah Department of Community & Economic Development
Utah Division of Parks and Recreation
Utah Division of Travel Development
Utah Travel Council
UT - National Park Service
UT - U.S. Forest Service
Arizona
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Game & Fish Department
Arizona Humanities Council
Arizona Office of Tourism
Arizona State Parks
Ak-Chin Indian Community
AZ - Bureau of Land Management
AZ - National Park Service
Northern Arizona University
Public Lands Information Center
Sharlot Hall Museum
Arizona Automobile Association
Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce
Madden Media
Metropolitan Tuscon Convention & Visitors Bureau
Sedona Chamber of Commerce
Sierra Vista Convention & Visitors Bureau
Canada
Province of Alberta
Mexico
State of Sonora
Telecommunications Companies
Telcordia
QUALCOM
Western Transportation Institute Page vii
CANAMEX Final Report Acknowledgements
In addition, WTI would like to thank the following individuals who played a key role in the development and completion of the technical memos and this final report:
CANAMEX Coalition Members
State
Name
Organization
Arizona
Victor Mendez
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona
Peter Woog
Pivotal Group
Arizona
Tom Belshe
Arizona Department of Commerce
Nevada
Jeffrey Fontaine
Nevada Department of Transportation
Nevada
Tom Skancke
The Skancke Company
Utah
John Njord
Utah Department of Transportation
Utah
Stephen Goodrich
United Parcel Service
Idaho
Dave Ekern
Idaho Transportation Department
Idaho
Dr. Richard Bowen
Idaho State University
Montana
Jim Currie
Montana Department of Transportation
Montana
Jay Foley
Diversified Transfer and Storage
Montana
Betsy Baumgart
Montana Department of Commerce
ITS Coordinators
Mike Bousliman, Montana Department of Transportation
Bob Koeberlein, Idaho Transportation Department
Richard Manser, Utah Department of Transportation
Fred Droes, Nevada Department of Transportation
Tim Wolfe, Arizona Department of Transportation
Technical Advisory Committee
Dick Turner, Montana Department of Transportation
Charles Rountree, Idaho Transportation Department
John Quick, Utah Department of Transportation
Joe Peltier, Nevada Department of Transportation
Dale Buskirk, Arizona Department of Transportation
Western Transportation Institute Page viii
CANAMEX Final Report Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables................................................................................................................................xi
List of Figures..............................................................................................................................xii
1. Introduction.................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background.....................................................................................................................1
1.2 Smart Tourist Corridor Objectives..................................................................................2
1.3 Uniqueness of Corridor...................................................................................................3
1.4 Purpose...........................................................................................................................4
1.5 Relationship to other CANAMEX Documents...............................................................5
2. Methodology...............................................................................................................................6
2.1 Overall............................................................................................................................6
2.2 Outreach Findings and Vision........................................................................................6
2.3 Corridor Operations........................................................................................................6
2.4 ITS Infrastructure and Benefits.......................................................................................6
3. Travel and Tourism Outreach findings........................................................................................7
3.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................7
3.2 Summary of Outreach Findings....................................................................................10
4. Corridor Operations...................................................................................................................13
4.1 Purpose.........................................................................................................................13
4.2 Traveler Information Needs..........................................................................................13
4.3 Information Exchange...................................................................................................15
4.4 Incident Management....................................................................................................18
4.5 Telematics.....................................................................................................................20
4.6 Institutional Coordination.............................................................................................21
4.7 Recommended Actions.................................................................................................21
5. Smart Tourist Vision and Strategic Initiatives...........................................................................23
5.1 Smart Tourist Vision.....................................................................................................23
5.2 Summary of Strategic Initiatives for the Smart Tourist Corridor.................................27
5.3 Assessment of CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Recommendations.....................42
6. Benefits of the Smart Tourist Corridor......................................................................................44
6.1 Smart Tourist Corridor Costs........................................................................................44
6.2 Corridor Benefits..........................................................................................................46
Western Transportation Institute Page ix
CANAMEX Final Report Table of Contents
7. Descriptive Scenarios of the Smart Tourist Corridor in Action................................................53
7.1 Visitor/Tourist...............................................................................................................53
7.2 Tourism Organization...................................................................................................53
7.3 Transportation Manager................................................................................................54
7.4 Transit/ Rail/ Airport Operator.....................................................................................54
7.5 Federal Land Steward...................................................................................................55
7.6 Operations.....................................................................................................................56
7.7 Safety...........................................................................................................................57
8. Summary and Next Steps...........................................................................................................58
8.1 Moving Forward from the CANAMEX Corridor Final Plan.......................................58
8.2 Next Steps/Issues for Consideration.............................................................................60
Western Transportation Institute Page x
CANAMEX Final Report List of Tables
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Summary of CANAMEX Benefits by Stakeholder Group..............................................iii
Table 2: Smart Tourist Corridor -- Recommended Next Steps.....................................................iv
Table 3: Private Sector Outreach....................................................................................................9
Table 4: Prioritization of Public and Private Sector Needs..........................................................11
Table 5: Travel and Tourism Information Needs........................................................................14
Table 6: Implementation Prioritization.........................................................................................27
Table 7: Comparison of Preliminary Concept Modules to Strategic Initiatives...........................27
Table 8: Relationship of Tourism Outreach Findings to Recommended Smart Tourism Corridor Program................................................................................................................................29
Table 9: Description of CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System Initiative Elements.....................................................................32
Table 10: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for the CANAMEX Gateway Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System Elements.........................................................34
Table 11: Description of CANAMEX Communications Initiative Elements..............................37
Table 12: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for the CANAMEX Communications Initiative...............................................................................................................................38
Table 13: Description of Private Sector Smart Devices Initiative................................................39
Table 14: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for Private Sector Smart Devices................39
Table 15: Description of Safety/Security and Operations Elements............................................41
Table 16: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for Safety/Security and Operations.............42
Table 17: Assessment of CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Recommendations....................43
Table 18. Summary of Costs by Strategic Initiative.....................................................................44
Table 19. Usage of the CANAMEX Corridor by State................................................................45
Table 20. Cost of CANAMEX Strategic Initiatives by State.......................................................45
Table 21. Summary of CANAMEX Costs by Stakeholder Group...............................................46
Table 22. Cost Savings as a Result of the Smart Tourist Initiatives.............................................47
Table 23: State Tourism Data Collected for Cost Benefit Analysis.............................................48
Table 24. Benefit of CANAMEX Strategic Initiatives by State...................................................50
Table 25. Summary of CANAMEX Benefits by Stakeholder Group...........................................51
Table 26: Assessment of CANAMEX Corridor Coalition Progress from the Corridor Final Plan to the Smart Tourist Corridor................................................................................................59
Table 27: Recommended Next Steps............................................................................................60
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CANAMEX Final Report List of Figures
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: CANAMEX Corridor......................................................................................................1
Figure 2: Montana Landscape.........................................................................................................3
Figure 3: Recreational Opportunities.............................................................................................3
Figure 4: Zion National Park.........................................................................................................4
Figure 5: Hoover Dam...................................................................................................................4
Figure 6: Distribution of Stakeholders............................................................................................7
Figure 7: Information Exchange Linkages..................................................................................15
Figure 8: Traffic Management Center..........................................................................................17
Figure 9: Existing and Planned ITS components in Idaho...........................................................18
Figure 10: Roadway Incident........................................................................................................19
Figure 11: Inter-relationship of Goals..........................................................................................23
Figure 12: Vision Outcome...........................................................................................................24
Figure 13: Institutional Foundation..............................................................................................25
Figure 14: Long-term Vision........................................................................................................26
Figure 15: CANAMEX Gateway Data Flows..............................................................................30
Figure 16: CANAMEX Communications Data Flows................................................................35
Figure 17: Example of Dynamic Message Sign..........................................................................36
Figure 18: Smart Devices Data Flows.........................................................................................38
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The CANAMEX Trade Corridor was established in 1995 as a High Priority Corridor in the National Highway Systems Designation Act passed by the U.S. Congress. In the United States, the Corridor follows Interstate 15 travels south through Montana, Idaho, Utah and Nevada. In Las Vegas, the Corridor follows U.S. 93 to Phoenix, Arizona and then Interstates 10 and 19 to Nogales (Figure 1). In 1999, the Governors of the five corridor states signed a Memorandum of Understanding creating the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition with public and private sector representation.
Based on the CANAMEX Corridor Plan, developed by Economics Research Associates in 2001, the Corridor is defined as a “unifying element.” The Plan was designed to meet the following objectives that are common to all five states:
• To stimulate economic development and enhance economic opportunity in the communities traversed by the CANAMEX Corridor. The communities are defined to include states, metropolitan areas, counties, cities, towns, and Native American reservations.
• To heighten awareness of the Corridor nationally and internationally and to incorporate the views, concerns and aspirations of key stakeholders from the Corridor communities into the development of the Plan.
• To identify the most critically needed transportation and telecommunications infrastructure (basic installations and facilities) projects within the Corridor, for the purposes of facilitating the safe and efficient movement of people, goods and services for the next 30 years, and to plan for their development.
Figure 1: CANAMEX Corridor
• To establish the Corridor as a leader in the innovative use of emerging technologies to accelerate economic development and sustain quality growth.
• To enhance the global competitiveness of the CANAMEX Corridor states.
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
• To prepare a Plan that represents the interest of each state and allows the five CANAMEX Corridor states to present a united front to the Federal Government for the funding of critically needed improvements and action on other initiatives.
The Coalition developed an action plan that identified five bold initiatives that, if undertaken, would drive the Plan’s ultimate success. The initiatives are listed below:
• Smart Freight Corridor
• Smart Tourist Corridor
• Telecommunications Access for Rural Areas
• Corridor Highway Improvements
• Smart Process Partnerships
In the fall of 2001, the Coalition decided to focus its initial implementation efforts on the Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative.
1.2 Smart Tourist Corridor Objectives
The overall goal of the Initiative is to develop a vision to enhance the Corridor's economic growth through tourism development based on advanced technology and communications applications. The CANAMEX Corridor Coalition established the following overall objectives for the Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative:
• Provide Corridor travelers with the safest and most convenient travel experience possible within the limits of available technology and resources.
• Identify a wide array of timely information desired by tourists and other Corridor travelers (including freight), based upon their perceptions of needs; advise Corridor travelers of user friendly outlets that can meet their information and other travel needs.
• Identify incident management and other operational practices within the Corridor and recommend alternative generic concepts for their improvement, including new and upgraded telecommunications, protocols and procedures.
• Identify new and upgraded infrastructure projects within the Corridor required to support implementation of the Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative and Corridor operations.
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
1.3 Uniqueness of Corridor
The CANAMEX Corridor is one of the most unique and diverse rural travel corridors that the United States has to offer. The spectacular landscapes include the beauty of the Rocky Mountains in the north, the breathtaking valleys surrounded by the Wasatch Mountains in the central region, and the red rocks and wide open plains in the south. The region retains its rural character in part due to the fact that 63% of the land in these states is Federal and Native American land (Final CANAMEX Corridor Plan, 2001). While large portions of the Corridor are in rural areas, it also passes directly through the urban areas of Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
Figure 2: Montana Landscape
Recreational Opportunities:
The CANAMEX Corridor offers a full range of year-round recreational opportunities including traditional favorites like fishing, skiing, white water rafting, hiking, and camping, as well as emerging activities such as extreme sports and off-road vehicles.
Visitor Experience:
Each year, more than 31 million travelers visit the national parks, monuments, historical sites, recreational areas and reserves in the CANAMEX Corridor region. The region contains some of the most famous landmarks and treasured natural sites in the United States, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Craters of The Moon National Monument Wilderness, Zion National Park and Hoover Dam.
Figure 3: Recreational Opportunities
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
Culture and History:
Tourists are also attracted to the rich culture and history of the region. The many Native American Reservations located throughout the Corridor are popular destinations, as well as other sites and events which showcase the heritage of the West: mining towns, the trails and discoveries of Lewis and Clark, rodeos, and cattle ranches.
Natural Resources:
The region is rich in natural resources that are critical to the economic vitality and environmental stability of our country. These resources range from agricultural lands and mineral deposits to animal and plant life that is unique to the region.
Transportation Facilities and Technology:
The CANAMEX Corridor must provide a safe and efficient means of traveling a long distance, through remote areas, under all weather and road conditions. Transportation agencies in the region have been on the cutting edge of providing technology solutions that manage facilities throughout the corridor. Recent innovations include: highway advisory radio, dynamic message signs, 511, Kiosks, advanced traveler management and information systems, road and weather information, and other management systems.
Figure 4: Zion National Park
International Travelers:
Many international travelers visit the region, attracted by the diverse landscapes and unique cultural experiences described previously. Since the Corridor connects the United States to both Canada and Mexico, the majority of international travelers are from these two countries. However, Interstate 15 provides all travelers with easy access to popular destinations.
Figure 5: Hoover Dam
1.4 Purpose
The purpose of this Final Report is to present a summary of the recommended program for the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor. The program is based upon the research, analyses and findings of three previous Technical Memoranda (TM) completed for the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition. Some findings and recommendations from the previous Technical Memoranda have been further refined for this Final Report.
The Final Report is organized as follows:
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CANAMEX Final Report Introduction
• Section 1 is Introduction, and contains relevant background information to the study genesis and purpose.
• Section 2 summarizes the Methodology followed throughout the entire project.
• Section 3 summarizes the Travel and Tourism Outreach Findings developed in TM 1.
• Section 4 summarizes the Corridor Operations needs and recommendations identified in TM 2.
• Section 5 describes the proposed Vision and Strategic Initiatives developed for the Smart Tourist Corridor (TM 3).
• Section 6 summarizes the potential Costs and Benefits of the Strategic Initiatives.
• Section 7 presents descriptive Scenarios of the Smart Tourist Corridor in action.
• Section 8 proposes Next Steps for further implementation of this project.
1.5 Relationship to other CANAMEX Documents
This report is the final product that summarizes the results of a series of three Technical Memoranda (TM) produced for the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition. TM 1 studied tourism issues and needs in the Corridor. TM 2 studied operational issues and needs in the Corridor. The TM 3 presented the recommendations for the Smart Tourist Corridor. Each of the TMs contains detailed surveys, analysis, and conclusions that are summarized in this final report. For more technical information on the development of the final recommendations, please refer to the three TMs, available on the CANAMEX website (www.canamex.org).
Significant research and analysis for the Coalition was conducted and summarized in a series of working papers by Economic Research Associates (ERA). These working papers were prepared in 2000 and 2001, and recommended the Smart Tourism Corridor concept. The research and analysis conducted for these reports formed the basis for the research and analysis for this study.
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CANAMEX Final Report Methodology
2. METHODOLOGY
2.1 Overall
The Western Transportation Institute defined a methodology for determining the tourism, operational and traveler needs of the Smart Tourist Corridor, and then developing the strategic initiatives and recommendations contained in this final report. The methodology was designed to collect necessary information, provide for appropriate review, and develop the framework and alternatives for the implementation of the Smart Tourist Corridor Initiative.
2.2 Outreach Findings and Vision
The first phase of WTI’s research (detailed in TM 1) was designed to identify tourism needs and develop a preliminary vision for the Smart Tourist Corridor. Tourism needs were established through extensive outreach with public and private stakeholders. These needs provided the inspiration and foundation for the development of a framework and prioritized alternatives.
2.3 Corridor Operations
In the second phase of research (TM 2), WTI studied operational needs in the Corridor. Again using an outreach process, researchers worked with transportation and emergency services personnel in the Corridor states to document existing infrastructure, and identify infrastructure needs and operational procedures that will promote safe and efficient travel. This research included a review of emerging technologies that will impact Corridor travel.
2.4 ITS Infrastructure and Benefits
The final phase of research (TM 3) presented recommendations. The preliminary concepts developed in TM 1 were refined based on the operational considerations identified in phase 2, as well as ongoing feedback from stakeholders. The outcome was the Strategic Initiatives described herein.
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CANAMEX Final Report Outreach Findings and Vision
3. TRAVEL AND TOURISM OUTREACH FINDINGS
3.1 Introduction
In order to develop a vision for the Smart Tourist Corridor, extensive outreach was conducted to establish the challenges and goals of the agencies that manage facilities or provide services to travelers in the region. More than 70 interviews were conducted with public and private sector agencies in all five states, including federal, state, and local agencies; Native American tribal organizations; and private tourism and communications enterprises. The following sections are provided as a summary, and more detailed information can be found in TM 1: Travel and Tourism Outreach Findings and Vision, dated October 1, 2003.
The public sector interview instrument developed for the stakeholder interviews was designed to produce a profile of the agency, its clients, its information systems and needs, and its transportation challenges. Rather than use a traditional survey instrument with pre-defined responses, researchers used a questionnaire in order to facilitate discussion and generate detailed information. WTI conducted 57 interviews with 39 public sector stakeholder agencies. As shown in Figure 6, stakeholder views represent a broad range of federal, state, local and Native American organizations. State - Transportation8%State - Tourism20%State - Parks, Recreation, Conservation & Natural Resources13%Bureau of Land Management8%Forest Service8%National Park Service15%State - Indian Affairs3%Native American Tribes10%All 0ther Agencies15%
Figure 6: Distribution of Stakeholders
Interview questions covered the following topic areas:
• Mission: The mission and function of the agency.
• Marketing or Strategic Plan: Whether the agency had a marketing or strategic plan.
• Geographic Area: The agency's perspective on the geographic definition of the I-15 Smart Tourist Corridor region
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CANAMEX Final Report Outreach Findings and Vision
• Public & Private Partners: An overview of the partnerships the agency has for the development and dissemination of information
• Customer Issues: The primary issues the agency faces in understanding and responding to their customers.
• General Statewide, Regional or Local Issues: The general issues facing the agency from a statewide, regional and/or local perspective.
• Visitor Information: The type of information currently provided to visitors and the communications mechanism.
• Gaps In Visitor Information: The agency's perspective of gaps in the information they currently are providing and related gaps or issues in the delivery of the information to the visitor.
• Attraction Promotion: The scope and degree of tourism information provided by the agency.
• Priority Needs: The major issues or needs facing the agency today from an inclusive perspective.
• Transportation Challenges: The primary transportation issues or needs from the perspective of the tourism and recreation agencies.
• Information Systems: A generalized overview of the current information systems and information management employed by the agency.
The information derived from the stakeholder interviews was used to identify the highest priority needs and develop advanced technology concepts for an integrated travel and tourism information system to address them. Additional interviews and meetings were conducted to review, refine and prioritize the preliminary concepts. Since a large number of stakeholders represented tourism agencies and recreation facilities, the priority information issues identified here tend to reflect the needs of those agencies more than others.
In an effort to understand the issues and needs of the private sector and identify partnership opportunities, individual and group interviews were conducted. The private sector interviews were conducted during the period of June through July 2003 through telephone interviews and group meetings. Individual telephone interviews were conducted in Montana and Idaho, and two discussion group meetings were conducted in Utah and Arizona. Interviews for Nevada were conducted as part of a Las Vegas outreach workshop. A complete list of private sector organizations interviewed is included in Table 3.
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CANAMEX Final Report Outreach Findings and Vision
Table 3: Private Sector Outreach
Organizations
Montana
Gold West Country
Russell Country
Butte Chamber of Commerce
Great Falls Chamber of Commerce
Helena Convention& Visitors Bureau
Idaho
Lava Hot Springs Foundation
Pocatello Chamber of Commerce - Convention & Visitors Bureau
Rexburg Chamber of Commerce
Sun Valley Company
Yellowstone Bear World
Nevada
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
Utah
Utah Travel Council
Arizona
Arizona Automobile Association
Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce
Madden Media
Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau
Sedona Chamber of Commerce
Sierra Vista Convention and Visitors Bureau
Miscellaneous
In-Vehicle Telemetric
Telcordia
Qualcomm
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CANAMEX Final Report Outreach Findings and Vision
3.2 Summary of Outreach Findings
Most of the initial interviews were conducted with public sector agencies. Their information needs were categorized into seven general challenges:
• Providing adequate personal safety information
• Expanding access to visitor information
• Developing and maintaining the tourism infrastructure
• Providing transportation information and options
• Access and use of public lands
• Managing visitor expectations
• Upgrading and integrating technology and communications
The individual information needs were then studied and prioritized. The highest ranked public sector needs, based on the number of times the stakeholders discussed them were:
1. Developing multi-language information materials
2. Expanding facility specific/facility use information
3. Conducting consumer research on changing visitor visitation patterns and activities
4. Expanding facility use advisories
5. Expanding facility use personal safety advisories.
Additional interviews were conducted with private sector agencies to compare public and private needs. As shown in Table 4, public and private sector priorities are relatively consistent. Differences in their priorities are often attributable to the mission of the agencies; for example, private sector agencies do not own or manage public lands, so would not view “Access and Use of Public Lands” as a priority.
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CANAMEX Final Report Outreach Findings and Vision
Table 4: Prioritization of Public and Private Sector Needs PrivatePublic1. Providing adequate personal safety information. Facility Use AdvisoriesX Facility Use Personal SafetyX Travel AdvisoriesX CongestionX IncidentsX ConstructionX ParkingX Multi-Modal OptionsXX2. Expanding access to visitor information. Multi-LanguageXX Facility Specific/Facility UseX Interpretative MaterialsX Regionalized InformationXX Pre-Trip Information DeliveryXX En-Route Information DeliveryXX Congestion and ParkingX3. Developing and maintaining the tourism economy & tourism infrastructure. Consumer/Visitor ResearchXX Tourism Infrastructure DevelopmentX Changing Activity PatternsXX Changing Visitation PatternsXX Transportation Infrastructure MaintenanceXX Tourism Program DevelopmentX4. Providing transportation information and options. Directional SignageXX Multi-Modal OptionsXX Transportation Infrastructure MaintenanceXX Travel AdvisoriesXX ParkingX5. Access and use of public lands. Use Rules and RegulationsX Off-Highway Vehicle RegulationsX AccessX StewardshipX6. Managing visitor expectations. Facility Multi-UseX Multi-LanguageXX Upgrading and integrating technology & communications. Real Time InformationXXSectorIssues and Opportunities
Another significant finding from the stakeholder interviews was that the priority information needs are linked through a variety of relationships. Since many of the information needs are applicable to multiple categories (or “challenges”), addressing a single information issue can help an agency meet multiple challenges. For example, if a public lands agency develops a technology solution that allows it to disseminate real-time travel advisories, it will have the capability to address at least three challenges: up-grading its communication system, providing enhanced personal safety information, and facilitating access of public lands.
The cross-cutting nature of information issues also demonstrates the importance of information sharing and integration. Developing an innovative solution to an information need can address
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CANAMEX Final Report Outreach Findings and Vision
the challenges of multiple agencies, as well as reach a much larger segment of the public, if the data can be incorporated into an integrated, accessible system. This was the guiding vision behind the Smart Tourist Concept presented in Section 5: Strategic Initiatives.
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CANAMEX Final Report Corridor Operations
4. CORRIDOR OPERATIONS
4.1 Purpose
Corridor Operations are those activities that, taken together, make possible the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the means by which accurate and timely information can be collected, processed and shared by public and private agencies, and then distributed to the traveling public in a way that will enhance safety and provide convenient access to tourism information. The following aspects of Corridor operations have each described and analyzed:
i Information Exchange
i Incident Management
i Communications / Telematics
First, however, it is necessary to briefly examine information needs as determined by tourism agencies and other Corridor stakeholders.
4.2 Traveler Information Needs
The information needs of Corridor travelers include pre-trip, en-route and arrival information regarding specific travel destinations as well as information about changing travel conditions. Needs vary according to travelers’ objectives for the journey, as well as to varying conditions along the route. For example, while some travelers will undoubtedly have a fixed destination in mind, others will search for attractive destinations of opportunity once they begin their trip. Information availability must accommodate and be responsive to these changing needs.
The information needs of Corridor travelers can be satisfied either actively or passively. That is, travelers may make inquiries to obtain information or, alternatively, information may be provided to them without any action on their part. For example, travelers may wish to determine the availability of specific amenities at several alternative destinations before making a final decision. Pre-trip or en-route information most likely will be obtained from the public or private venue under consideration. In this case travelers have pro-actively initiated the information “search.” However, travelers often don’t know when a planned route to the selected destination has been closed due to e.g., a serious accident. Providing this information to travelers so that they can make informed decisions regarding alternative routing, or otherwise modify their plans, must be initiated by the public agency responsible for operating the roadway.
Based on outreach activities described earlier, travel and tourism needs identified by stakeholders are show in Table 5.
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CANAMEX Final Report Corridor Operations
Table 5: Travel and Tourism Information Needs SafetyFacility Use AdvisoriesXXReal TimeXXFacility Use Personal SafetyXXReal TimeXXTravel AdvisoriesXXXXCongestionXXXIncidentsXXXConstructionXXXXParkingXXMulti-Modal OptionsXXXVisitor InformationMulti-LanguageXXXXFacility Specific/Facility UseXXInterpretative MaterialsXXRegionalized Tourism InformationXXXXPre-Trip Info DeliveryXEn-Route Info DeliverXXCongestion & ParkingXXTourism Infrastructure Consumer ResearchXXXXInfrastructure DevelopmentXChanging Activity PatternsXXXXChanging Visitation PatternsXInfrastructure MaintenanceN/AN/AN/AN/AProgram DevelopmentXTransportationSignage - DirectionalXXXMulti-ModalXXInfrastructure MaintenanceN/AN/AN/AN/ATravel AdvisoriesXXXXParkingXXPublic LandsUse Rules and RegulationsXXOff-Highway Vehicle RegulationsXXAccessXXStewardshipXManaging Visitor ExpectationsFacility Multi-Use XXMulti-LanguageXXXXTechnology & CommunicationsReal Time CommunicationsXXXXAlong-the-WayApproaching DestinationDestination Area ChallengesInformation NeedsPre-Trip
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CANAMEX Final Report Corridor Operations
4.3 Information Exchange
Existing Information Exchange in the CANAMEX Corridor, although effective within and around urban areas is, in general, inadequate to meet the needs of, and provide optimum benefits to, Corridor travelers particularly in rural areas. Tourism information, e.g., en-route and in the vicinity of destinations, usually is not available in real time, frequently not available at all in rural areas, and suffers from inadequate resources and the slow emergence and adoption of new technologies.
While the states have made significant investments in Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure with which to provide important roadway information, more is warranted as evidenced by the great amount of ITS components planned and programmed for future deployment.
Many opportunities exist to improve information exchange. For example, providing “seamless” information to travelers is just now beginning as a part of institutional coordination. However, it will require significant investment and institutional “buy-in” to improve information coordination and to reap the available benefits for travelers. Effective information exchange depends a great deal among the CANAMEX states and among members of the tourism
Figure 7: Information Exchange Linkages
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CANAMEX Final Report Corridor Operations
community.
There are many means by which Corridor information may be exchanged. All travelers within the CANAMEX Corridor (tourists, freight carriers, and those people using it for every day travel) want to avail themselves of up-to-date and accurate information. While some travelers obtain needed information before they begin their journey, others do not. However, virtually all travelers benefit from en-route information, whether it is related to tourism and recreation, or to traffic conditions and weather along the way and / or at their destinations. Selected information exchange linkages for segments of the journey are shown in Figure 7.
Information being exchanged within the Corridor is primarily limited to travel safety and remote, automated collection of travel-related data such as weather and road surface conditions, roadway incidents, etc. Automated acquisition and decimation of tourism related information is spotty and is primarily via the Internet where tourism venues and agencies may post amenities, costs, availability of accommodations, etc. on their websites. In addition, tourism information is available at Visitor Information Centers throughout the Corridor.
Distribution of travel information frequently is through Highway Advisory Radio, Dynamic Message Signs, National 511, and other ITS devices.
Chapter 5 describes Strategic Initiatives and concepts, which when adopted and implemented, will greatly expand the ability to acquire, process and distribute tourism and travel information throughout the Corridor. In addition, recommendations contained in the Technical Memoranda preceding this Final Report describe additional specific actions that would significantly improve Corridor information exchange.
ITS components are the essential tools for collection of travel, weather, road surface condition and a host of other operational data that may become an impediment to the traveler. They are the primary, although not exclusive, means by which transportation agencies communicate with travelers in the CANAMEX Corridor. Collection and processing of this information by public agencies enable officials to determine what information must be provided to Corridor travelers, as well as how and when it becomes available.
ITS components within the Corridor include:
i Highway Advisory Radio,
i Highway Closure and Restriction System,
i Closed Circuit Television,
i Dynamic Message Signs,
i Road Weather Information Systems,
i Traffic Monitoring Systems,
i Nationwide Traveler Information Number 511, and
i Transportation Management Centers
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CANAMEX Final Report Corridor Operations
Figure 8: Traffic Management Center
Virtually all ITS components play a critical role in determining conditions that might compromise Corridor travel safety and provide important and appropriate information to travelers.
Each State ITS Coordinator inventoried ITS components in the Corridor. Existing components and those planned and/or programmed for deployment were plotted in a GIS format on base maps of each State. Shown below in Figure 9 is the GIS map for Idaho showing existing and planned ITS components.
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CANAMEX Final Report Corridor Operations
􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀
􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 X SBX NBX SBX NBX WBX EBPPPPPPPPPPPPPXXPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 86 15􀀀
􀀀
YellowstoneYellowstoneNational ParkNational ParkGrand TetonGrand TetonNational ParkNational ParkCraters TheCraters of TheMoon NationalMoon NationalMonumentMonumentWildernessWildernessCity RocksCity Of RocksNational ReservNational Reserv
Figure 9: Existing and Planned ITS components in Idaho.
4.4 Incident Management
An incident is any planned or unplanned event resulting in disruption of normal travel during a particular time and at a specific location along the transportation network.
Unplanned incidents occur spontaneously along the transportation network and often threaten the lives of both the public and emergency service providers. However, tourists, long-haul freight carriers and regional residents using the Corridor for everyday travel as well as other Corridor travelers must also be made aware of planned incidents, such as maintenance and construction activities so that they may choose to adjust their travel plans as warranted. These latter incidents pose more of an inconvenience to travelers and usually do not amount to a threat to safety.
Few Corridor functions, if any, are of greater importance than Incident Management (IM). When it is performed “right,“ it is a significant enhancement to traveler safety. When it is done “wrong” the results can be disastrous for law enforcement officers, as well as other responders, at incident scenes. In addition, there is a growing number of wrongful death lawsuits filed against incident commanders and government agencies alleging mismanagement of incident sites.
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Figure 10: Roadway Incident
Most of the CANAMEX Corridor is located in rural areas of the five states. Incident management in any rural area is problematic. Mountainous terrain compromises cell phone coverage to some urban areas; some rural highways have little or no coverage. In fact, some areas of the Corridor are without wireless coverage. Frequently, motorists reporting accidents or other unplanned incidents requiring emergency response do not know their own location. Moreover, once an incident is located, responders need much more time to reach the scene than their urban counterparts. Preliminary research by WTI indicates that the time to learn of an accident is two to three times longer where no wireless coverage exists. The response times in remote sections of the Corridor often are measured in hours rather than minutes.
Rural Incident Management usually is organized at the county or regional level of government. The most important part of IM is the ability to communicate effectively. Ironically, first responders in rural areas view this as the most under funded element and serious deficiency of IM. As with Information Exchange, effective Incident Management also depends a great deal on institutional coordination.
Particularly at the local level, current Incident Management practices are sometimes fraught with correctable problems, such as inadequate communication, inadequate training, traffic control and inattention to passing traffic. State Incident Management, on the other hand, generally is well organized, and adequate resources exist within the Corridor. Both Arizona and Idaho have statewide Incident Management plans. Utah, Montana and Nevada have disaster plans that include some Incident Management elements.
Among the travel and tourism information needs identified by stakeholders are: travel safety advisories, availability of real time information, personal safety, and notice of en-route incidents and en-route construction and maintenance.
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Numerous recommendations for improving Incident Management practices are contained in Technical Memorandum 2.
4.5 Telematics
Telecommunications is the science and technology of transmitting information over great distances in the form of electromagnetic signals. Telematics is the science of long-distance transmission of computerized information; in other words it is the intersection of telecommunications and computing. The importance of telematics throughout the Corridor cannot be overstated. It is the foundation upon which rests the entire concept of information exchange and incident management. Moreover, the primary objectives of enhancing safety and convenience of tourists, freight carriers, local residents and other Corridor travelers cannot be attained without a robust applied telematics system. Information Exchange and Incident Management are dependent on an effective telecommunications and telematics system.
Some of the principal travel and tourism needs as expressed by tourism agencies and individuals as part of Traveler and Tourism Outreach are listed below. The ability of agencies to be responsive to these expressed needs is entirely dependent on telematics.
• Information regarding facility use, regionalized tourism information
• Pre-trip information delivery, en-route information delivery
• Information about congestion and parking at tourism venues
• Rules and regulations at venues
• Access to public lands
• The ability to obtain real-time information
• Public / Private Partnerships
• Availability of technological devices
• Provision of information directly to travelers and other institutional information outlets
Currently wire line is the most pervasive, effective and reliable means by which to communicate within the CANAMEX Corridor. However, this method of communication often depends upon the initiative of tourists (and other travelers) that they sometimes find time-consuming and inconvenient. As a result, information that would benefit tourists’ travel experience often is difficult to obtain. Wireless communication, however, has the potential to become the dominant form over the next decade.
Effective wireless communication in the Corridor is sporadic uneven due to mountainous terrain and business decisions by carriers not to invest in these areas. Telecommunications companies are reluctant to construct repeater towers in rural areas due to their substantial costs in relation to revenues. In addition, local residents often oppose repeater towers due to their ungainly appearance on the landscape. Thus, mountainous terrain and lack of adequate repeater towers combine to make cell phone effectiveness in the Corridor very problematic. There are extensive “gaps” in cell phone coverage. Satellite phones, on the other hand, are almost one hundred percent effective in virtually any terrain, with the possible exception of canyons. Currently, the
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Corridor’s wireless communication focus is primarily use of voice communication, often in emergency situations.
Fortunately, the Federal Communications Commission has mandated that all telecommunication companies assure their products can support wireless E911 (Enhanced 911) by 2005. Satellite telephones, as costs drop and business models are adjusted, will most likely proliferate in the market and wireless E911, accessible through satellite phones, will gradually replace many of today’s cell phones. Thus, Corridor travelers will benefit greatly with regard to their safety and ready access to tourism and related venues. In addition to reporting incidents that can be immediately and accurately located, tourists will be able to obtain “concierge” services en-route to their destinations. For example, availability of accommodations, prices, directions to venues, amenities, rules and regulation, parking, etc. will be available on demand. The outlook for significantly improved wireless communication in the Corridor is very promising.
4.6 Institutional Coordination
As suggested earlier, Corridor travelers seldom care which state they are traveling in when seeking (or wishing to provide) information. As a result, DMS and other electronic media in one state should provide important information about conditions affecting travel at least in abutting states and, preferably, in all Corridor states. Moreover, information that may affect traveler decisions from outside the Corridor should also be available. Therefore, it is incumbent on CANAMEX states to ensure that operating policies, protocols and communication systems are in place so that information available to tourists and other travelers is “seamless.” Institutional coordination and operating systems integration are essential to provision of truly comprehensive information.
Examples of information states should exchange include, incidents, weather conditions, roadway surface condition, travel delays, DMS messages, changes to 511 messages, and so forth. Also, it is important to formally document agreements among the states in Intergovernmental Agreements.
Many opportunities exist to improve information exchange. For example, the provision of “seamless” information to travelers is just now beginning as a part of institutional coordination. However, it will require significant investment and institutional “buy-in” to improve information coordination and to reap the available benefits for travelers.
4.7 Recommended Actions
Clearly, there exist deficiencies in the operational capability within the Corridor. Listed below are the primary recommendations developed for addressing them. TM 2 discusses these recommendations in greater detail.
4.7.1 Information Exchange
i The type of information exchanged via the national information number, 511, should be significantly broadened within the limits of each state’s statutes and policies.
i Protocols for assuring that Corridor information is compatible and seamless among the CANAMEX states should be developed.
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i States and other agencies should develop information exchange procedures that foster an ongoing working relationship between Departments of Transportation and state/private sector tourism agencies.
4.7.2 Incident Management
i Corridor states without a Statewide Incident Management Plan should develop one. Proactive and frequent interagency Incident Response training should be realistic and apropos to situations usually encountered by first responders. In addition, each state should partner with local responders to increase coordination and provide training when warranted.
i Agreements among agencies should be formal and documented thus, limiting exposure to litigation.
i All maintenance and operating staff as well as emergency responders should receive training in how to set up traffic control zones in accordance with the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
4.7.3 Telematics and Telecommunications
i A project should be undertaken to determine the limits and quality of the region’s telecommunications infrastructure.
i Additional funds should allocated to capital, operating and maintenance costs for improving communication components of ITS.
i CANAMEX states’ policies and statutes that may constrain the allocation of funds for improving telematics, and entering into partnerships with the private sector, should be modified.
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5. SMART TOURIST VISION AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
This chapter describes the preliminary vision and initial concepts developed for the Smart Tourist Corridor. It then presents the final strategic initiatives that resulted from the research and outreach process.
5.1 Smart Tourist Vision
The Smart Tourist vision (or concept) was a framework for addressing the challenges and priority needs identified through the stakeholder interview process. It is not intended to be project specific, but rather to present an approach that affords transportation agencies and tourism organizations the ability to provide and receive information, manage facilities and services, and meet traveler needs beyond their own jurisdictional borders. At the heart of this vision is creating the ability for existing databases to communicate on a multi-state basis, so that all travelers have easy access to tourism information and real-time advisories (CANAMEX Gateway: multi-portal website), leading to improved traveler experiences and increased tourism activity.
From the stakeholder interviews, key characteristics of the framework were identified. From these, it became possible to identify the inter-relationship between the various needs (Figure 11) and the vision (Figure 12), and then create the concept for an Integrated Travel and Tourism Information System (ITTIS).
InterInter--relationshipsrelationshipsProvide for Public-PrivatePartnershipOpportunitiesProfile Users,Needs andServicesPromote TourismPreserve Culture and HistoryProtect Natural ResourcesManagePerformanceOf TransportationSystems andFacilitiesProvide andFacilities
Figure 11: Inter-relationship of Goals
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Access AllAccess and Information For AllPromote and Brand CANAMEX ConceptCollect Data and Provide for ConnectivityProvide for Visitor Needs, Services and ExpectationsDisseminate Travel & Tourism Information & Manage Transportation Systems/FacilitiesEnhance Visitor ExperienceCreate Integrated GatewayDevelop Smart Device SystemIncrease Economic Activity & Manage Transportation Facilities
Figure 12: Vision Outcome
5.1.1 Institutional Integration
Through years of experience, public and private agencies in the United States have learned that they need a strong institutional foundation and positive relationship with their partners to successfully implement and operate technological improvements (Figure 13). In planning for the implementation of transportation technology, it is critical to recognize that technology can be the enabler that allows diverse agencies to work together.
Communication and coordination between tourism organizations and the creation of a catalyst to ensure cooperation were commonly identified needs throughout the outreach activities conducted during this project. To address these needs the Tourism Network concept was conceived. A cohesive mechanism to facilitate cooperation between tourism organizations and departments of transportation and achieve the corridor-wide vision, the Tourism Network would:
• Provide an organizational structure for addressing institutional issues,
• Develop a branding program and marketing plan,
• Identify and manage data to be fused to allow for seamless information,
• Address international visitor needs by determining language requirements for the CANAMEX Gateway/Multi-portal website,
• Discuss changing visitation, recreation activity, demographic and trip patterns,
• Establish monitoring and reservation system requirements to allow for demand forecasts to be made on attractions and services, and
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• Determine the level of discounts that could be created to modify visitor travel behavior. Institutional FoundationAdvanced TechnologiesInstitutional SupportTransportation/TourismNeeds
Figure 13: Institutional Foundation
5.1.2 Integrated Travel and Tourism Information System
From the vision, the research team conceived a preliminary concept for an Integrated Travel and Tourism Information System (ITTIS). The ITTIS would create a gateway to receive and disseminate information, deploy smart devices and build an infrastructure to assist operating agencies with managing facilities and traveler demands to ultimately generate economic activity. The system would be composed of five modules that could be deployed in phases and leverage existing transportation and tourism initiatives. The modules would also be flexible enough to incorporate future Corridor traveler and agency needs. The initial components were:
• CANAMEX Gateway/Multi-portal website: a Corridor-wide portal that links multiple agencies and organizations, and provides the travelers with multi-language information regarding attractions, services, and regulations to enhance their experience. It also creates a database platform for in-vehicle systems.
• Tourist Information Center: allows visitors to obtain real-time travel and tourism information about road conditions, attractions, lodging and parking availability, cultural and environmental stewardship education information, all through various devices.
• Smart Devices and Financial Settlement Center: provides visitors with electronic payment cards and smart devices managed by a central Financial Settlement Center and
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coordinated with the Tourism Network to establish discounts with merchants and device holders. The devices allow for the collection of consumer data, facilitate information dissemination, and can be used as a catalyst to support transportation demand alternatives.
• Traffic Management Center: collects transportation operations data and provides information through state road reporting systems to Visitor Gateway/ Clearinghouse. Information is also disseminated to travelers through a variety of en route advanced technologies.
• Multi-modal Center: a one-stop shop for multi-modal transportation alternatives (bus, air, rail) that horizontally integrates information and educates and informs travelers of availability.
The long-term vision or concept envisioned the integration of the five modules (Figure 14). The additional component, the Tourism Network, would require a formal institutional partnership among agencies, as explained previously. TouristInformationCenterFinancialSettlementCenterTrafficManagement Centerkiosksmart device writersmart device readerpdatrafficmanagement/monitoringnetworkremote accessterminalMulti-modalManagementCenterdemand actuatedtransitVMSVMSVMSVMSVMSVMSAirIntercity BusRailTourist Gateway/ClearinghouseTourismDOT
Figure 14: Long-term Vision
Based on the outreach to the private sector and their feedback on the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Initiative vision of an Integrated Travel and Tourism System at the Las Vegas workshop, the following priorities were ascertained for each module. The outreach conducted during these meetings was intended to, in part, serve as a critique of a “strawman” vision that could later be refined and detailed.
Based on the outreach activities these priorities there was, highest support from the private sector for the Tourism Network, Visitor Gateway/ Clearinghouse, and Tourist Information Center, and moderate support for the Multi-modal Center (Table 6). It was not surprising that there was
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lowest support for the Traffic Management Center in that the private sector may not perceive that as a role for them.
Table 6: Implementation Prioritization
Integrated Travel and Tourism Information System Module Prioritizing
Private
Public
Tourism Network
High
Low
CANAMEX Gateway/Website & Clearinghouse
High
High
Tourist Information Center
High
High
Smart Devices and Financial Settlement Center
Low
Moderate
Traffic Management Center
Low
Moderate
Multi-Modal Center
Moderate
High
Based on preliminary review of the concepts by stakeholders, public and private agencies gave the greatest support to the development of the Visitor Gateway Clearinghouse, Tourism Network and the Tourist Information Center. As each of these concepts are key elements of a coordinated and integrated information system, it is not surprising that both public and private sector organizations selected these as their highest priorities.
The modules of the ITTIS were developed during the first phase of this project (TM 1). Following further research, stakeholder input, and the completion of TM 2 and TM 3, the vision and these modules were refined, resulting in the four strategic initiatives detailed below. Table 7 shows how the preliminary modules compare with the Strategic Initiatives.
Table 7: Comparison of Preliminary Concept Modules to Strategic Initiatives
ITTIS MODULES
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
• Tourism Network
• Visitor Gateway/Clearinghouse
• Tourist Information Center
• Smart Devices & Financial Settlement Center
• Traffic Management Center
• Multi-Modal Center
• CANAMEX Gateway and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System
• CANAMEX Communications
• Smart Devices Development
• Safety/Security and Operations
In general, most of the elements of the Tourism Network, Visitor Gateway and Tourist Information Center have been folded into the CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System. The Smart Devices and Financial Settlement Center is now the Smart Devices Development initiative, and elements of the Traffic Management Center are contained in both the CANAMEX Communications initiative and the Safety/Security and Operations initiative.
5.2 Summary of Strategic Initiatives for the Smart Tourist Corridor
Based on all of the meetings, research, analysis, and stakeholder input to this study, we have identified four strategic initiatives that comprise the Smart Tourist Corridor program. These strategic initiatives are:
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1. Create the CANAMEX Gateway, which includes a Multi-portal Website and a Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System
2. Develop the CANAMEX Communications Systems
3. Promote Private Sector Smart Devices Development Opportunities
4. Bolster Safety/Security and Operations in the Corridor
The four strategic initiatives are all linked together and interdependent. Many of the initiatives cannot be successful implemented without the completion of others.
Table 8 below shows how these initiatives of the Smart Tourist Corridor address the initial challenges identified in the stakeholder outreach process. The table shows where the initiative has a primary role in addressing the challenge (shown as a “P”), a secondary role in addressing the challenge (shown as an “S”), or no role (shown as a blank).
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Table 8: Relationship of Tourism Outreach Findings to Recommended Smart Tourism Corridor Program
SMART TOURIST CORRIDOR INITIATIVES
CANAMEX GATEWAY AND DATA GATHERING /SHARING SYSTEM
CANAMEX COMMUNICATIONS
PRIVATE SECTOR SMART DEVICES
SAFETY/SECURITY AND OPERATIONS
OUTREACH FINDINGS
PROVIDING PERSONAL SAFETY INFORMATION
P
P
P
P
EXPANDING ACCESS TO VISITOR INFORMATION
P
P
P
S
DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING THE TOURISM ECONOMY AND TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
P
S
S
PROVIDING TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION AND OPTIONS
P
P
P
S
PROVIDING INFORMATION ON ACCESS AND USE OF PUBLIC LANDS
P
S
S
MANAGING VISITOR EXPECTATIONS
P
S
S
UPGRADING AND INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS
P
P
P
P
The four strategic initiatives represent a bold, unique, innovative and feasible Smart Tourist Corridor program. For example, the creation of a computerized data storage and sharing system (data warehouse) is a simple and feasible concept. However, the scope of the data warehouse, requiring a multi-state partnership, including multiple agencies within each state and federal agencies, is bold and unique. Nowhere in the United States have multiple agencies developed such a concept.
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Each of the initiatives is described below. For more detail on the initiatives, please refer to TM 3.
5.2.1 CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System
The multi-state data gathering/sharing system and CANAMEX Gateway website will form the heart of the Smart Tourist Corridor concept. It will also create the basis for private sector companies to provide information services in the corridor.
The main component of the data gathering/sharing system will be a data warehouse (Figure 15) that will function as the central repository for all corridor related data. This data will include both transportation data (such as construction activities, weather, and real-time traffic conditions) and tourism data (such as services, locations, and special events). Private Sector Transportation Information Access (smart devices) Private Sector Tourist Information Services TMC (multi-modal) Mobile TMC Tourist Information Center (services) CANAMEXGateway DataGatheringDataGatheringMedia Public Information Access SourcesMediaPublic Information Access Sources
Figure 15: CANAMEX Gateway Data Flows
The data warehouse is a critical component to the success of the Smart Tourist Corridor concept. The data warehouse will be the collection point of data from multiple states, and multiple agencies within each of the states. The data warehouse will gather, process, organize, archive,
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and distribute the data to appropriate recipients. It is imperative that the data be accurate, reliable, and real-time for the success of the project.
The purpose of the real-time data gathering is to enhance the amount and accuracy of transportation data in the corridor, especially in rural areas. Two methods to collect additional data include traditional methods by state DOT’s, and innovative methods through public/private partnerships.
The traditional methods include further deployment of roadway weather information systems (RWIS), traffic monitoring stations (TMS), and closed circuit television cameras (CCTV). The innovative methods include several options, as follows:
• Partner with the private sector to deploy additional traditional data collection devices in the corridor, in both urban areas and around major attractions.
• Partner with private sector organizations that have access to probe vehicle data in the corridor. Examples include Qualcomm, which collects data from the trucking industry, and telematics companies such as Onstar.
• Use DOT and other state agency vehicles as probes, assuming deployment of automated vehicle location systems on fleet vehicles.
The CANAMEX Gateway will consist of a website that provides the traveling public with access to the information in the data warehouse. The Gateway will add value to the existing state tourism and transportation websites, rather than replace them, and be a corridor wide concept supported through a branding initiative and other tourism marketing activities.
Another component of this initiative is tourism center information exchange. The purpose of the tourism center information exchange is to expand data access (for both transportation and tourism related information) to those organizations involved in the tourism industry. The exchange will use available technology to push relevant data and notifications to relevant organizations. For example, if an incident occurred on I-15 in southern Utah, the information would be broadcast (via e-mail) to those tourist organizations affected, such as Zion/Bryce Canyon National Parks and St. George’s Visitor Center.
There are several important considerations that will make this concept a success. First, tourism organizations will be provided with accurate, real-time information. Second, tourist organizations will not be bombarded with useless notifications (i.e. Tucson won’t receive notifications on the closing of Bozeman Pass in Montana). Third, the tourist organizations will not have to search or look for the information, it will be provided (“pushed”) to them.
Table 9 provides a summary of the major elements that comprise the initiative.
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Table 9: Description of CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System Initiative Elements
CANAMEX GATEWAY:MULTI-PORTAL WEBSITE &MULTI-STATE DATA GATHERING/SHARING SYSTEM INITIATIVE
ELEMENT
DESCRIPTION
Data Gathering
All of the DOT’s are already collecting transportation and weather data in the corridor, but additional data collection is needed, especially in rural areas. Accurate, reliable, and timely data form the foundation of any information system.
Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV)
CCTV deployment will be supplemented throughout the corridor; especially in rural areas (the major urban areas already have extensive coverage). CCTV provides travelers with real-time images of traffic and weather conditions. Several DOT’s indicated that Internet sites with CCTV images are the most popular (highest number of “hits”).
Traffic Monitoring Stations (TMS)
TMS are electronic sensors used by DOT’s to determine the amount and speed of traffic on sections of roadway. The TMS will be deployed in rural areas to supplement data being collected in the urban areas.
Transportation Management Center (TMC) Upgrades
TMC’s are the operations center that control and operate of the ITS field devices. With the installation of additional devices, the TMC’s will need to add capacity to control the devices.
Roadway Weather Information Systems (RWIS)
RWIS are electronic sensors that provide information on prevailing weather conditions, pavement conditions, and also collect traffic data. Additional RWIS will be deployed throughout the corridor.
Data Warehouse
The data warehouse will be the heart of the Smart Tourism Corridor. The data warehouse will contain of the all transportation and tourism related data for the corridor. The data warehouse is not actually a physical warehouse, but will be a virtual repository consisting of several servers (computers) and communications that can be located anywhere. .
Tourist Center Information Exchange
Processess/Procedures Development
To expedite and insure the success of the information exchange, a study will be conducted to determine and develop the methods and process by which the tourist centers can exchange information. The study will also determine the type of information to be exchanged, quality assurance, timeliness, etc, and those centers that should be part of the system.
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CANAMEX GATEWAY:MULTI-PORTAL WEBSITE &MULTI-STATE DATA GATHERING/SHARING SYSTEM INITIATIVE (CONTINUED)
ELEMENT
DESCRIPTION
Information Exchange System
The information exchange system will be an automated service provided to tourist centers. The system will automatically push relevant transportation/tourism data to the appropriate centers, in real-time. The system will be Internet/e-mail based, and rely on the information in the data warehouse.
Branding/Marketing Campaign for Gateway
As part of the development and launch of the CANAMEX Gateway website, a study to develop logos, graphics, slogans, etc. will be conducted.
Visitor Surveys
As part of the CANAMEX Gateway website, survey options will be created to query travelers on preferences, attitudes, and trends. This information can then be shared with the tourism industry throughout the Corridor. This information will also be used to periodically review and adjust the application and deployment of the Smart Tourist Corridor.
CANAMEX Gateway Website
The CANAMEX gateway website will be the user interface that the traveling public uses to access information in the data warehouse.
Table 10 presents the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations for this initiative.
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Table 10: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for the CANAMEX Gateway Website and Multi-state Data Gathering/Sharing System Elements
ORGANIZATION
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
State DOTs
• Collect transportation and weather data.
• Insure accuracy, relevancy, and timeliness of transportation/weather data.
• Provide transportation/weather data to data warehouse.
• Participate in information exchange with other DOTs and partners. Operate/maintain ITS field devices, including traffic monitoring stations, camera • s,
rting communications systems.
roadway weather monitoring stations, and suppo
• Operate/maintain Traffic Management Center.
•
Develop data sharing partnership agreements for involvement of private sector
State Tourism Agencies •
• ourism data. Work with tourism
rds, and processes for collection and
•
for website
s.
rism organizations to develop process/procedures for the information
• n for CANAMEX Gateway website (may be
ebsite. Refine marketing and other Smart
Collect tourism data. Insure accuracy, relevancy, an
d timeliness of torganizations to develop guidelines, standa
maintenance of tourism data. Provide tourism data to data ware
house. • Maintain/operate CANAMEX gateway website (may be outsourced). Develop marketing campaign
• Participate in information exchange with other tourism organizations and state DOTWork with tou
exchange network. Develop branding/marketing campaig
outsourced).
• Collect/review visitor survey data from w
Tourist Corridor efforts accordingly.
Tourism Information
Centers
on exchange procedures.
• Collect tourism data.
• Provide tourism data to data warehouse.
• Work with State Tourism Agencies to define informati
Participate in information exchange with other agencies.
• Provide transportation, weather and tourism data to travelers.
Private Sector
Transportation
te agencies.
rganizations and state DOTs.
Information Providers
• Develop/deploy innovative data collection techniques to supplement DOT data
• Develop data sharing agreements with sta
• Participate in information exchange with other tourism o
Private Sector Tourism
Venues
nd state DOTs.
• Provides amenities, rates, directions and other information to data warehouse
• Participate in information exchange with other tourism organizations a
State and Federal Land
Managers • Provide tourism/transportation data to data warehouse.
• Work with State Tourism Agencies to define information exchange procedures.
• Collect tourism and transportation data.
• Help define information exchange procedures; participate in ongoing information exchange with other agencies. • Provide transportation, weather, and tourism information to travelers
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The present value estimated cost for this initiative is $27,051,000. This includes study costs, development costs, capital costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs. 5.2.2 CANAMEX Communications This initiative consists of a series of actions to expand and strengthen the communications infrastructure in the CANAMEX Corridor. A major component will be to expand the state
DOT’s use of traditional and new ITS methods for disseminating information to the traveling public. These methods include dynamic message signs (DMS), highway advisory radio (HAR), and enhanced 511. The enhan
ced
511 concept ouri
includes not only multi-modal transportation
information, but also access to t sm servic ion. F he focus is to expand
their deployment further in rural areas of the c or. Data will be managed and flow through
es informat
or DMS’s, t
orrid
Traffic Management Centers (TMC), which collect transportation operations data through a variety of field devices and sensors, and provide information through state road reporting systems to the various dissemination systems. The TMC is similar in scope to a NASA Mission Control Center, but for traffic operations and management. Figure 16: CANAMEX Communications Data Flows
TMC
Mobile TMC
Public
Transportation
Information
Private Transportation Information
Data Warehouse/
Gateway
Public
Tourism
Information
Private
Tourism
Information
DMS
511
Communications
Fiber
Wire
Cellular
Field Devices
HAR
ITS
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Additional components of this initiative will include completing cellular coverage in the corridor, providing communications to ITS field devices, and providing satellite phones for state DOT responder/maintenance personnel in rural areas. Completing the cellular coverage in the
corridor is essential for the personal safety of travelers in the corridor, and is also essential for
Table 11 provides a summary of the major elements that comprise the initiative.
the application of innovative private sector technologies. Communications to ITS field devices, especially in rural areas, can be difficult; however, through a variety of methods, including cellular, satellite, phone line, and radio communications can be efficiently provided. Satellite phones are a valuable option for communications, especially during emergencies and incident response. The cost and usability of satellite communications have improved significantly very recently, and will be even more viable in the future.
Figure 17: Example of Dynamic Message Sign
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Table 11: Description of CANAMEX Communications Initiative Elements
CANAMEX COMMUNICATIONS INITIATIVE
ELEMENT
ELEMENT DESCRIPTION
Dynamic Message Signs (DMS)
DMS’s are the large visual displays on the side or over the roadway that provide travelers with pertinent information en-route. DMS’s will be provided at key traveler decision points (e.g., before a major interchange, near major attractions, etc.) throughout the corridor.
Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)
HAR is a radio broadcast dedicated to provide travel related information. HAR can provide more detailed information than DMS’s, and is useful in partnership with DMS’s at key decision points. HAR is also currently used at some attractions to provide usage information.
Enhanced 511 Deployment
511 in the national number for travel information, and is currently deployed in Montana, Utah, and Arizona. 511 will be deployed in the near future in Nevada and Idaho. Currently, 511 provides transportation information; enhanced 511 will expand the current system to provide tourism information. This information will include attractions, parks, hotels, restaurants, shopping, etc…
Communications for Field Devices
To control ITS field devices (such as dynamic message signs, cameras, etc…), communications links need to be established between the TMC and the devices. In the rural areas, a variety of communications media (e.g., cellular, satellite, fiber optic, phone lines, etc…) will be utilized to provide a cost effective communication network. The specific communications for the devices will be determined as part for the design process for the devices.
Satellite Phones for Rural Maintenance Districts
The costs of using satellite based devices are becoming cost competitive with other wireless communications options. The satellite devices offer some unique advantages, especially in rural areas where cellular coverage is not complete, or may be obscured by canyons, mountains, etc… Satellite devices will also function when other land based systems are knocked out by natural events or power failures. This initiative will deploy a test sample of satellite phones in rural districts for testing and evaluation.
Increased Cellular Phone Coverage
Cellular coverage is not complete in the corridor, especially in the mountainous and canyon regions. For personal safety (access to 911) and information access (access to 511), coverage needs to completed in the corridor.
Table 12 presents the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations for this initiative.
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Table 12: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for the CANAMEX Communications Initiative
ORGANIZATION
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
State DOTs
• Operate/maintain ITS field devices, including dynamic message signs, highway advisory radio, and supporting communications systems.
• Utilize ITS field devices (dynamic message signs and highway advisory radio) to disseminate information to travelers.
• Operate/maintain enhanced 511 system.
• Operate/maintain Traffic Management Center.
• Deploy and utilize satellite phones in rural districts
Private Sector Communications
Companies
• communications infrastructure in rural areas to
improve corridor coverage
Develop and deploy cellular
The present value estimated cost for this initiative is $36,189,000. This includes study costs,
development costs, capital costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs.
pment of an institutional and
these and/or other vendors to bring these services in the Corridor, especially in the
rural areas.
5.2.3 Promote Private Sector Smart Devices Development Opportunities Smart devices (i.e., cellular phones, personal digital assistants, in-vehicle units, etc.) are rapidly developing in usage and applications. A key objective of the Smart Tourism Corridor is for the state agencies to prepare for private sector deployment of tourism and transportation applications in the Corridor. This preparation includes physical elements such as the collection of reliable, real-time transportation data and tourism data, plus the develo
regulatory environment conducive to private sector investment. Several vendors already have deployed tourism service applications and mapping/routing applications for cellular phones in other parts of the country and the world. Partnering may be needed withPrivate Source Pr
ivate Sector
Providers Cellular Network
Data W
Gateway
Figure 18: Smart Devices Data Flows
Cellular Phone/PDA
arehouse/
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In the near future, cell phones will also offer unique opportunities for financial services in the Corridor. Japan and South Korea are already using cell phones for financial services (basically functioning as digital ATM cards), and these services will soon be available in the U.S.
Table 13 provides a summary of the major elements that comprise the initiative.
Table 13: Description of Private Sector Smart Devices Initiative
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE USE OF PRIVATE SECTOR SMART DEVICES
ELEMENT
ELEMENT DESCRIPTION
Smart Devices Deployment Initiatives
Smart Devices include cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDA’s), portable computers, and in-vehicle navigation systems that have Internet access. These devices can be used to access any of the information on the Internet, including the CANAMEX Gateway website. Further, many companies are offering travel and tourism applications/services for Smart Devices that can enhance the visitor experience in the corridor. By creating the data warehouse and providing incentives, CANAMEX can attract these companies to deploy in the corridor.
Table 14 presents the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations for this initiative.
Table 14: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for Private Sector Smart Devices
ORGANIZATION
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
State DOTs
• Develop data sharing partnership agreements for involvement of private sector for smart device traveler information services
Private Sector Transportation Information Providers
• Develop and deploy smart device traveler information services in the corridor
• Supplement DOT collected transportation data with additional sources.
• Develop data sharing agreements with state agencies
The present value estimated cost for this initiative is $1,500,000. This includes study costs,
ent costs, capital costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs.
developm
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5.2.4 Safety/Security and Operations in the Corridor
The Safety/Security and Operations initiative is an important and broad series of activities that covers many of the recommendations from TM 2. The major recommendations include developing the public sector infrastructure for E911, providing training and developing interagency agreements for enhancing state DOT incident management, Corridor wide implementation for Amber Alerts, and DOT information exchange.
The CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website will enhance the homeland security efforts in the Corridor. The increased level of monitoring of the Corridor will also provide relevant, reliable and real-time information for critical security decisions. For the DOT’s that maintain/operate the Corridor, the additional data and information exchange will foster better coordination and cooperation among maintenance districts bordering adjacent states.
In other words, very nature of creating the data warehouse, with the corresponding information exchange, will facilitate all aspects of Corridor operations by making it easier for agencies with diverse missions to share information and work together. Traffic operations and incident management response will be faster when all relevant agencies can share information, and thereby coordinate resources quickly.
Table 15 provides a summary of the major elements that comprise the initiative.
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Table 15: Description of Safety/Security and Operations Elements
SAFETY/SECURITY AND OPERATIONS IN THE CORRIDOR
ELEMENT
ELEMENT DESCRIPTION
Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) Systems for Maintenance Vehicles
AVL is a global positioning system (GPS) based device that tracks the location and movement of vehicles. The system can be used to more efficiently deploy maintenance vehicles, track maintenance vehicles for safety/security, to coordinate activities, and to also automatically provide transportation/weather data.
DOT Information Exchange
Similar to the tourist center information exchange, the DOT exchange will push relevant transportation, construction, incident and other data from the data warehouse to each DOT.
Amber Alerts
Amber Alert is the national system used to help regain kidnapped children by providing notifications on DMS’s and other media. Each state in the corridor already participates in the program, and the additional DMS’ and other information sources provided as part of the CANAMEX Smart Tourism Corridor can and will be used to broaden the reach of future Amber Alerts.
Mobile Transportation Management Centers for Rural Areas
The Mobile TMC’s will consist of 1 mobile operations center vehicle, 2 portable DMS, 1 portable HAR, 2 portable CCTV, and 1 support/service vehicle. The mobile TMC’s will be used in rural areas to respond to emergency events (e.g., wildfires), construction zones, incidents, crashes, special event activities (e.g., state fairs, festivals, sporting events, etc…), and other occasions requiring on the spot traffic control and information.
E-911
In order to implement E-911 (E-911 is an enhancement to the 911 system that provides the location of cellular based 911 calls), the call centers (Public service Access Points – PSAP’s) will need to upgrade their equipment.
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Table 16 presents the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations for this initiative.
Table 16: Organization Roles and Responsibilities for Safety/Security and Operations
ORGANIZATION
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
State DOTs
• Participate in information exchange with other DOTs and partners.
• Operate/maintain Traffic Management Center.
• Utilize additional ITS devices for Amber Alerts
• Deploy and utilize automatic vehicle location systems.
• Deploy and utilize Mobile TMCs
The present value estimated cost for this initiative is $6,222,000. This includes study costs,
art Tourist Corridor Recommendations
e
the objectives and principles in the Final
nly transportation data but also tourism
information, and partnering with the private sector.
development costs, capital costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs. 5.3 Assessment of CANAMEX Sm
to CANAMEX Corridor Final Plan In April 2001, the CANAMEX Corridor Coalition adopted an overall Final Plan for the CANAMEX Corridor. One of the five major recommendations of the Final Plan was to develop a Smart Tourist Corridor. The Final Plan recommendations included some guidance on th
Smart Tourist Corridor, but also suggested a further detailed study to develop the parameters. Table 17 below provides an assessment of the recommendations from the Final Plan compared to the recommendations developed for this current Smart Tourist Corridor Study. The table shows that the current recommendations hold true to
Plan, while further building on supporting concepts. As shown in Table 17, the Smart Tourist Corridor Study recommends a significant increase in the number of ITS devices in the corridor, which is consistent with the current planning efforts of each state. The Smart Tourist Corridor Study also adds important supporting elements, including data gathering, sharing/disseminating not o
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Table 17: Assessment of CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Recommendations to CANAMEX Corridor Final Plan
Smart Tourism Corridor, December 2003 Recommendations
CANAMEX Corridor Final Plan, April 2001 Recommendations
Develop a Smart Tourism Corridor, divided into six strategic initiatives
Develop a Smart Tourist system that will provide static and real-time information to travelers
Data Gathering
Not included
Recommend 237 Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV)
Not included
Recommend 584 Traffic Monitoring Systems
Not included
Recommend Transportation Management Center Upgrades
Not included
Recommend 43 Roadway Weather Information Systems
Not included
CANAMEX Gateway Website
Included CANAMEX Website
Develop data gathering/sharing/dissemination system (data warehouse).
Portions included --development of an integrated information sharing system (CT-MAIN) for transportation data
Not recommended
Kiosks (10 sites)
Also includes sharing traveler and tourism data
Not included
Tourist Center Information Exchange
Portions included
Information exchange system
Not included
Develop brand for corridor
Included
Develop marketing campaign
Included
Visitor surveys
Not included
Communications
Portions included
Satellite phones
Not included
Field device communications
Included
Increases cellular coverage
Included
Information Dissemination
Portions included
Enhanced 511 system
Not included
Recommend 105 additional dynamic message signs
Dynamic Message Signs (22)
Recommend 43 additional HAR sites
Highway Advisory Radio (11 sites)
Private Sector Smart Devices Initiative
Not included
Safety/Security and Operations
Portions included
Automatic Vehicle Location Systems
Not included
DOT information exchange
Included
Amber Alerts
Not included
Mobile Transportation Management Centers
Not included
E-911
Not included
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6. BENEFITS OF THE SMART TOURIST CORRIDOR
6.1 Smart Tourist Corridor Costs
6.1.1 Corridor Costs by Initiative
Table 18 shows the summary of costs by strategic initiative for the CANAMEX Corridor and the total cost, including capital investment and operational and maintenance costs over the next ten years, is estimated to be $70,962,000.
Table 18. Summary of Costs by Strategic Initiative
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
COST ($)
COMMENTS
CANAMEX Gateway
$27,051,000
Includes RWIS, CCTV, TMS, TMC Upgrades, Data Warehouse, Website, and DOT/Tourist center information exchange.
CANAMEX Communications
$36,189,000
Includes satellite phones, improved cell coverage, DMS, HAR, and Enhanced 511.
Smart Devices
$1,500,000
Includes seed money and costs for public-private partnerships and data sharing.
Safety/Security and Operations
$6,222,000
Includes AVL, Mobile TMC, E-911, etc. Costs related to information exchange and Amber alerts are not included since they are accounted for in CANAMEX Gateway costs.
TOTAL
$70,962,000
Includes capital investment costs and 10 years of operational and maintenance costs.
6.1.2 Corridor Costs by State
This section illustrates the method used to allocate the cost among the states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Montana.
Each CANAMEX state is anticipated to invest a common percentage of the costs related to the implementation of the CANAMEX data warehouse and gateway website, etc., all of which will benefit the CANAMEX Corridor as a whole. Cost-sharing should also take into consideration the fact that some states will benefit more from the strategic initiatives than others. Table 19 shows the usage of the CANAMEX Corridor by the five states, in terms of vehicle-miles.
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Table 19. Usage of the CANAMEX Corridor by State
STATE
AADT *
HIGHWAY LENGTH (MILES)
AVG. ANNUAL DAILY VEHICLE-MILES
RELATIVE RATIO
AZ
75,694
387
29,293,492
0.485
NV
58,789
124
7,289,861
0.121
UT
49,481
401
19,841,824
0.328
ID
11,595
196
2,272,555
0.038
MT
4,302
396
1,703,592
0.028
TOTAL
199,861
1,504
60,401,323
1.000
* The AADT statistics are based on the 1998 existing typical rural and large urban route performance along the CANAMEX Corridor; the numbers for various routes are averaged for each state.
In light of these considerations, the cost of CANAMEX strategic initiatives is shown for each state in Table 20.
First, the total cost is broken down into Planned ITS Device Costs and Other Costs. The former include the total life-cycle cost of planned ITS devices, including RWIS, CCTV, TMS, DMS, and HAR, and costs almost $50 million (second column in Table 20). Other Costs are defined as all the costs related to the strategic initiatives other than those of planned ITS devices; they total approximately $21 million (third column in Table 20).
In order for each state of the CANAMEX Coalition to invest an equitable amount of money in the initiatives, the Technical Advisory Committee Members and the ITS Coordinators have agreed that the five states would first equally share the 15% of the Other Costs (i.e. one-fifth of the 15%; about $600,000 for each state, fourth column in Table 20), and the remaining 85% of it will be shared among the states based on the distribution of vehicle-miles traveled along the Corridor (sixth column in Table 20).
Table 20. Cost of CANAMEX Strategic Initiatives by State
STATE
PLANNED ITS DEVICE LIFE-CYCLE COST ($)
OTHER COSTS ($)
3%SHARE OF OTHER COSTS ($)
RELATIVE RATIO
WEIGHTED SHARE OF OTHER COSTS ($)
TOTAL COST ($)*
AZ
$13,916,000
$9,296,095
$630,600
0.485
$8,665,495
$23,212,095
NV
$3,972,000
$2,792,507
$630,600
0.121
$2,161,907
$6,764,507
UT
$18,942,000
$6,490,976
$630,600
0.328
$5,860,376
$25,432,976
ID
$10,025,000
$1,309,546
$630,600
0.038
$678,946
$11,334,546
MT
$3,087,000
$1,130,876
$630,600
0.028
$500,276
$4,217,876
TOTAL
$49,942,000
$21,020,000
$3,153,000 (15% of other costs)
1.000
$17,867,000 (85% of other costs)
$70,962,000
* Total Cost equals columns 2 + 4+ 6
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6.1.3 Corridor Costs by Stakeholder Group
This section illustrates the method to allocate the cost among the stakeholder groups, i.e., the State DOTs, the tourism industry, and the traveling public.
For the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives, no costs have been assigned to the traveling public. Costs are distributed among the State DOTs and the tourism industry. The results are shown in Table 21. Over the ten-year period, the total cost for the tourism industry within the five CANAMEX states is estimated to be about $2.6 million, or about a quarter of a million dollars per year. On average, this is about $50,000 per year per state.
Table 21. Summary of CANAMEX Costs by Stakeholder Group
SMART TOURIST CORRIDOR INITIATIVE
STATE DOT’S
($)
TOURISM INDUSTRY
($)
TRAVELING PUBLIC
($)
TOTAL ESTIMATED COST ($)
CANAMEX Gateway: Multi-portal Website and Multi-State Data System
Data Gathering
$24,601,000
0
0
$24,601,000
Data Warehouse
$567,500
$567,500
0
$1,135,000
CANAMEX Website
0
$760,000
0
$760,000
Tourist Center Info Exchange
0
$555,000
0
$555,000
CANAMEX Communications
$36,189,000
0
0
$36,189,000
Smart Devices
$750,000
$750,000
0
$1,500,000
Safety/Security and Operations
$6,222,000
0
0
$6,222,000
TOTALS
68,329,500
2,632,500
0
70, 962,000
Note that we assumed that the State DOTs will bear the costs of data gathering, safety/security and operations, and communications, while the tourism industry will bear the costs of CANAMEX website and tourist center information exchange. In addition, the costs of the data warehouse and smart devices will be equally shared between the State DOTs and the tourism industry.
6.2 Corridor Benefits
The CANAMEX Corridor will promote the economic and transportation linkages among Canada, the United States, and Mexico, support increased tourism, and improve incident management for rural communities.
Implementation of recommendations from TMs #1, #2 and #3 would yield significant benefits to all the CANAMEX states. All Corridor travelers will benefit from significantly increased safety and security. Also, residents within and in the vicinity of the Corridor will experience not only
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safety and mobility benefits, but also improved viability of the economy within the Corridor resulting from increased tourism and, ultimately, jobs. The 2001 CANAMEX Corridor Plan determined that the Smart Tourist Corridor Bold Initiative would add 113,000 additional jobs to the Corridor work force through 2030, over and above naturally occurring job growth.
6.2.1 Corridor Benefits by Initiative
The Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives are intertwined and interdependent. Therefore, it is impossible to isolate the benefits of one strategic initiative from another. Instead, the corridor benefits will be illustrated through cost reductions and tourism revenues.
Cost Reductions: Reduction in Travel Time, Accident, and Weather Delays
The Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives will lead to significant cost reductions, as shown in Table 22. It is estimated that over a period of ten years (2005-2014) deployment of ITS devices within the Corridor and software support for traveler information collection, processing and dissemination will save almost $66 million as a result of reduction in accidents (20%) and weather-related delays, as shown in Table 22. These benefits will be achieved by providing timely information to the public traveling along the Corridor.
Table 22. Cost Savings as a Result of the Smart Tourist Initiatives
TIME PERIOD
TRAVEL TIME SAVINGS (VEHICLE HOURS)
COST SAVINGS DUE TO REDUCTION IN ACCIDENT AND WEATHER DELAYS ($)
2005-2009
Benefits
18,000,000 per year
$4,900,000 per year
Five Year Total
90,000,000
$ 24,500,000
2010-2014
Benefits
49,000,000 per year
$8,250,000 per year
Five Year Total
245,000,000
$ 41,200,000
2005 – 2014 TOTAL
335,000,000
$ 65,700,000
In addition, over the same period, travel time savings of 335 million vehicle-hours are expected to accrue as a result of the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives. These travel time savings can be translated into another $2 billion over the ten-year period. However, since these savings are somewhat abstract, they have not been used in calculating the benefit to cost ratios.
Tourism Revenues: “One More Day” Counts
As a result of implementing the strategic initiatives, the improved safety, efficiency, and convenience in travel will attract more tourists to the CANAMEX states and/or encourage
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tourists to stay longer. This section explains the method used to estimate the additional tourism revenues generated by the Smart Tourist initiatives.
Researchers collected tourism data for each state in the Corridor, including number of tourists visiting the state and their average daily expenditures. These data are presented in Table 23.
Table 23: State Tourism Data Collected for Cost Benefit Analysis
STATE
ANNUAL NUMBER OF VISITORS (DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL)
AVERAGE DAILY EXPENDITURES BY NONRESIDENT VISITORS ($)
AZ
29,700,000
$108/day
NV
47,900,000
$134/day
UT
17,300,000
$101/day
ID
21,700,000
$180/day
MT
9,600,000
$139/day
Researchers assumed (conservatively) that over the next ten years, 1% of the tourists visiting each CANAMEX State will stay one day longer each year as a result of the CANAMEX Smart Tourist initiatives. The added tourism revenues for each state were calculated according to the following formula:
R = E*P*V*(365*AADT)/100
In this formula, R stands for the added annual tourism revenue as a result of the CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor Initiatives. E stands for the average daily expenditures of non-resident tourists.
The P factor accounts for the percentage of travelers who are non-resident tourists, which was assumed to be 39.1% based on the following previous research. On average, 39.1% of the nonresident travelers in Montana (a CANAMEX state) are tourists (with the purpose of trip as
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vacation), according to the State of Montana 2002 nonresident expenditure profiles available at http://www.itrr.umt.edu/nonres/ExpProfile02.pdf.
The V factor stands for the number of persons per vehicle, i.e., average vehicle occupancy (which was assumed to be 1.3 based on an FHWA study available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/toolbox/portland_methodology_user.htm). AADT is the Average Annual Daily Vehicle-Miles indicating the number of travelers visiting the Corridor each year (as shown in Table 19).
Researchers calculated these tourism revenue estimates using currently available data from each state. However, each state uses its own methodology for calculating the data. As a result, characteristics of the data vary from state to state, due to such factors as:
• Year in which most recent data was collected
• Components of average daily tourism expenditures
• Survey methods (panels, household surveys, intercept surveys)
Because of these variations in the data, and the assumptions used in the formula, the estimates are not directly comparable on a state-to-state basis. As a result, the estimates should be considered in relative terms rather than in absolute terms. The intent of this analysis was to provide a general indication or magnitude of the potential benefits of the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives.
If stakeholder agencies determine that it would be beneficial to calculate more accurate estimates of increased tourism revenues, the Coalition may want to consider conducting further research on this topic. The tourism industry could assist in identifying and collecting consistent data in each state, so that detailed, up-to-date, and comparable estimates could be calculated.
In addition to the enormous cost savings, the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives will boost the economic growth of the CANAMEX states, and in particular, benefit the tourism industry. As shown in Table 24, over a period of ten years (2005-2014), additional revenues of almost one billion dollars will be generated for the CANAMEX states, significantly increasing the benefit-to-cost ratio of the Smart Tourist Corridor initiatives.
In the 2001 CANAMEX Corridor Plan, the report projected that state tourism revenues would increase by one percent (1%) for the first ten year period of implementation of the Smart Tourist Corridor. These increased revenues would occur from additional tourists coming to the Corridor region, and spending more money. WTI has determined that the benefits from assuming that one percent of the tourists spend one more day each year in the corridor are roughly equivalent to the assumption of an increase of one percent for state tourism revenues. Thus, to be conservative in our benefit calculations, we did not assume any additional benefit from increasing the base number of tourists in the Corridor as a result of Smart Tourist Corridor implementation.
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6.2.2 Corridor Benefits by State
In light of the usage of the CANAMEX Corridor by the five states (see Table 19), the anticipated benefits of the CANAMEX strategic initiatives were determined for each state, as shown in Table 24. Table 24 shows the cost reductions, added tourism revenues, and benefit-to-cost ratios for each of the five states.
Table 24. Benefit of CANAMEX Strategic Initiatives by State
STATE
TIME PERIOD
TOTAL COST ($)
COST SAVINGS DUE TO REDUCTION IN ACCIDENT AND WEATHER DELAYS ($)
ADDED TOURISM REVENUES ($)
OVERALL BENEFIT-TO-COST RATIO
2005-2009
$11,882,500
$75,845,707
2010-2014
$19,982,000
$75,845,707
AZ
10 Yr. TOTAL
$23,212,095
$31,864,500
$151,691,413
7.91
2005-2009
$2,964,500
$345,804,883
2010-2014
$4,985,200
$345,804,883
NV
10 Yr. TOTAL
$6,764,507
$7,949,700
$146,176,196
22.78
2005-2009
$8,036,000
$46,366,641
2010-2014
$13,513,600
$46,366,641
UT
10 Yr. TOTAL
$25,432,976
$21,549,600
$92,733,281
4.99
2005-2009
$931,000
$19,363,731
2010-2014
$1,565,600
$19,363,731
ID
10 Yr. TOTAL
$11,334,546
$2,496,600
$38,727,463
3.64
2005-2009
$686,000
$5,560,303
2010-2014
$1,153,600
$5,560,303
MT
10 Yr. TOTAL
$4,217,876
$1,839,600
$11,120,607
3.07
ALL FIVE STATES
10 Yr. TOTAL
$70,962,000
$65,700,000
$440,424,214
7.1
Corridor benefits were estimated taking into account the following considerations.
• The estimated benefit from travel time savings is not included in the table.
• The tourism revenues were calculated from increased expenditures by nonresident tourists and do not include the indirect and induced impacts, i.e., increased business expenditures made by travel-related enterprises and those employed in travel-related occupations, and state & local taxes.
• In addition to the quantifiable benefits, other benefits that will accrue as a result of implementing the strategic initiatives including: additional jobs, reductions in vehicle emissions and improved air quality, reduced queuing at National Parks, etc.
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6.2.3 Corridor Benefits by Stakeholder Group
The CANAMEX Smart Tourist Corridor strategic initiatives benefit stakeholders in the five states. Table 25 shows the benefits to the principal stakeholder groups: state departments of transportation, the tourism industry, and the traveling public.
Table 25. Summary of CANAMEX Benefits by Stakeholder Group
STAKEHOLDER GROUP
ESTIMATED BENEFITS ($)
ESTIMATED COST ($)
OVERALL BENEFIT-TO-COST RATIO
State DOTs
$65,700,000 *
$68,329,500
1.0
Tourism Industry
$440,424,214 ♣
$2,632,500
167.3
Traveling Public
$65,700,000
0
NA
TOTAL
$506,124,214
$70, 962,000
7.1
* The cost savings due to reduction in accident and weather delays directly benefit the traveling public and are also considered as benefits to the State DOTs.
♣ For the tourism industry, there are limited data available to use as a basis for allocating Corridor benefits between private sector agencies and public sector agencies. The Corridor will facilitate efforts by public sector tourism agencies to better realize their strategic goals.
In addition to the quantifiable benefits, a broad range of stakeholders will realize many qualitative benefits including:
• Public agencies will be able to exchange essential information and coordinate services.
• Tourism agencies will be able to coordinate services with public agencies, conduct better consumer research, and offer targeted trip information to clients.
• Departments of transportation will be able to use accurate and timely road and weather information to improve traveler safety and facilitate maintenance.
• Tourists and other travelers will have access to real-time travel and safety information through improved communication devices.
• Standardized data exchange will facilitate public-private partnerships, and present opportunities for privatization of certain public services.
• Native American tribes will benefit from enhanced institutional relationships with public sector tourism and transportation agencies, and economic development resulting from increased tourism.
• Increased safety and efficiency for freight haulers will spur the economy and increase employment on a local, regional, state and international basis.
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In summary, the Smart Tourist Corridor strategic initiatives are estimated to result in cost reductions of almost $66 million and increased tourism revenues of more than $400 million over the next ten years, resulting in an overall benefit-to-cost ratio of 7.1. The initiatives are also expected to result in travel time saving of 335 million vehicle hours over the ten-year time period. The four strateg